


paper thin

by dejakyu (dietsoba)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, M/M, Past Chanbaek, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Build, Switching, Threesome - M/M/M, basically both of them are loud as fuck, it’s still chanchen but fwb are a thing, that's the fic, this is what happens when you say things as a joke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-11-12 08:10:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 90,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18007127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dietsoba/pseuds/dejakyu
Summary: Kim Jongdae is loud. He talks loudly, he laughs loudly, and he sings…loudly. Unfortunately, when he moves into the apartment beside Chanyeol’s, it becomes a problem. Chanyeol is not exactly a quiet person himself, but he’s going to have to figure something out if he wants to get a little peace and quiet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration for this fic goes to my current, loud-as-fuck neighbours both above and beside me. Stop wearing shoes inside ffs.

_ Don’t forget me, I said _

_ I’ll remember, you said _

_ Sometimes it lasts in love _

_ But sometimes it hurts instead~ _

Chanyeol inhaled deeply through his nose and slammed his hands down on the piano keyboard connected to his monitor. The most awful noise filled his apartment and marred the score of digital piece he was currently composing. This was not the first time he’d heard his neighbour crooning Adele at top volume today and, to be quite frank, he was ready to never hear the damn song again. Demonstrating a high degree of restraint, he resisted the urge to smack his head against the desk and instead clicked “undo” to erase the mess he’d just caused. Whatever focus he had was now lost amidst the wandering tune echoing through the wall.

He sighed and reached for his phone. Within seconds he had his “go fuk urself” playlist open and a song with bass loud enough to shake the walls coming from his Bluetooth speakers to drown out the noise. The music didn’t exactly help with his own focus but it did its job in cutting off his neighbour. Satisfied, he rapped along with the music with gusto, partly to work through his anger in a relatively constructive manner and partly to give his neighbour a taste of his own medicine.

It was only 3 weeks into the semester and already Chanyeol was ready to tear his hair out. He was so distraught when his last neighbour, Zhang Yixing, a fellow composer and his favourite jam buddy, went back to China for the semester as part of some sister-school international program. Chanyeol was happy for him, he really was, but his absence was very much felt.

Sure, Yixing made noise too–all music students are inherently noisy–but he was never obnoxious or obtrusive about it. In fact, Chanyeol quite liked listening to Yixing compose and couldn’t remember ever being irritated about it. They clicked just right in that department.

If wasn’t even that his neighbour’s voice was bad, in fact, it was one of the best in the entire faculty. Of course, Chanyeol would only admit this if forced to. His plight was simply a case of overexposure to unnecessary volume at inconvenient times. Anyone would be annoyed in the same situation, no matter how godly the voice.

From what Chanyeol could remember from their brief introduction, his new neighbour was named Kim Jongdae and was also in the music department, specializing in voice performance and business. Chanyeol’s first impressions were that he was friendly, very good looking, and vaguely familiar. They’d hit it off quite well from the get go, having enough in common to keep a conversation going, not that talking was hard, Jongdae was incredibly easy to talk to. Chanyeol had high hopes for their future friendship, at least, until their doors were closed and the noise began not a day later. They hadn’t spoken face to face since, Chanyeol going out of his way to avoid him when possible.

In short, he really  _ really _ missed Yixing.

 

–

 

Chanyeol was hanging out in Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo’s apartment for the evening, or so he said. In reality, he was hiding because he’s been practicing classical guitar for a few hours, not realizing that Jongdae was actually home the entire time and had been trying to tune him out. When he’d switched to electric out of frustration and started singing along, Jongdae hit his limit.

Something loud hit the wall loud enough to get him to stop followed by Jongdae yelling, “IT’S BEEN THREE HOURS STOP. PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, EITHER STOP OR LEAVE.”

He very intelligently replied, “SO? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?”

“I CAN WHINE UNTIL YOU STOP, I HAVE GREAT BREATH CONTROL. THREE HOURS OF PRACTICE IS FINE. THE ELECTRIC GUITAR…NO.” Chanyeol had no doubt he would and that he would regret every minute of it if he kept going.

“UGH, FINE I’LL STOP. I KNOW YOU SING MORE THAN THREE HOURS THOUGH. KEEP THAT IN MIND.” Chanyeol yelled.

“THANKS,” Jongdae said, and was silent.

Ten minutes later, Chanyeol grabbed his sweater and bag. He texted Kyungsoo saying he’d be over in a few. Being stuck in his room with all of that tension in the air was driving him nuts and he needed a break. This was the third time this week. Other times Jongdae had left, leaving Chanyeol alone. It was, in no way, convenient or ideal and trying to stick it through, as he had when he had no other choice, made him less than productive.

So here he was, sitting on the ground, surrounded by dogs and escaping both his neighbour and his homework. He’d already started sneezing from his allergies but Kyungsoo had already made him take his medication so he was good for a while. Besides, they were all so cute it was worth it.

“Yo, Chanyeol!” Sehun called from the table where he was actually getting work done, his dark hair was ruffled from where he’d been rubbing it in frustration. “Are we still going to the gym tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, why?” Chanyeol asked, still trying to get kisses from Vivi. Sehun’s white dog refused to pay him any attention and it was making him a little sad.

Sehun hummed. “Just checking.”

Chanyeol sat up, eyebrows raised. Vivi made the decision to walk over to his owner and sit in his lap instead. “Suspicious.”

“It’s not suspicious, you could have plans or something,” Sehun drawled, hand automatically going to stroke Vivi.

“He never has plans, that was definitely suspicious,” Jongin piped in from where he was lying on the couch. Chanyeol jumped, he was sure Jongin had been asleep. He’d come home from dance practice in a grey sweatsuit absolutely covered in sweat and promptly collapsed on the couch, ignoring Sehun’s complaints about the smell.

“I just might be running a little late, that’s all,” Sehun said nonchalantly.

“Late, why?” Chanyeol asked. Sehun was late most days but it was weird that he’d suddenly mention it.

The doorbell rang conveniently. “Jongin you get it,” Sehun said from the table.

Jongin moaned through a pillow, “You’re literally next to the door.”

Sehun pointed at the dog on his lap, “I’m clearly occupied so can you just go and…”

“I’ll do it,” Chanyeol said while sitting up. “But we’re not done talking Sehun.” He walked over to the door only to find Junmyeon standing in the doorway. “Hey,” Chanyeol said awkwardly. He still hadn’t done his part of the group project he was in with Junmyeon and felt immensely guilty about it. The look on Junmyeon’s face said everything: he was not impressed.

“Chanyeol, what a pleasant surprise,” was all Junmyeon said to him. “I brought dessert,” he announced to the rest of the room, holding up a cake. Everyone erupted into cheers except Kyungsoo who only gave one of his rare wide smiles. Chanyeol assumed all was still somewhat okay at this point but he needed to hurry or it wouldn’t be for long.

Junmyeon moved into the kitchen, putting down the cake and sitting beside Sehun. “I’m actually here to tutor Sehun, he explained. He’s sort of hopeless at physics.”

Sehun looked up, brows furrowed. “You didn’t have to tell them that.”

“Why there’s no harm in it. They might be able to help too,” Junmyeon said, pulling books from his backpack.

Sehun laughed. ”You think they can do physics? All of their degrees are useless.”

“Sehun, remember who feeds you.” Kyungsoo said, he was still holding the spoon covered with red sauce he’d been using. Sehun looked a little alarmed and turned away without another word. Kyungsoo had that kind of effect on people.

“Anyway, what were you saying about being late?” Chanyeol asked, sitting down at the other end of the table.

Sehun glanced over at Junmyeon, and then at Kyungsoo. “I just might be a little late, I have a project with someone and I’m sleeping over.” He looked pointedly at Chanyeol.

“Ahhhh, right. A project. We can start half an hour later than usual, just be there okay. I need to work out my frustration.” He shared a look of mutual understanding with Chanyeol and went back to his work. Junmyeon showed no sign of realizing what had just transpired but Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

Jongin had apparently heard the conversation and rolled off the couch to come closer. “ _Sleeping over_ , eh?”

“Yes, I have a project. Now shut up I’m trying to learn.”

“You do know I was decent at physics right?” Jongin said, looking down. “That part there is wrong.” Sehun scowled at him, erasing what he’d written. “Anyway, who is this project with?”

“No one you know. Junmyeon’s _friend_ Yifan might know him,” Sehun said, eyeing Junmyeon.

“Okay, okay enough about me and Yifan, we’re not a thing. I don’t even know if we will be so stop asking.” Junmyeon said all at once.

Chanyeol smirked, “No one implied anything like that Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon only sighed, “I’m serious, people keep jumping down my back about this. We’re friends, besides I like someone else.”

Sehun looked at him as if he was a different person. “Someone else? _”_

“Yes, someone else. I’m not telling you who it is so finish this question and move on to the next set.” Junmyeon’s mouth was set in a tight line and he was focused intently on the books before him.

“Mmm okay then, I have something even more fun,” Sehun said after he finished another question.” Chanyeol and Jongin looked up from their phones. “Chanyeol.”

“What about me?” Chanyeol asked, confused. Even Junmyeon looked surprised. Ever since he and Baekhyun had broken up things had died down a lot save for the odd question here and there.

“So you really can’t stand Jongdae, I hear?”

Chanyeol frowned, “That’s old news, I’ve been complaining here for weeks.”

“Yeah but neither you nor Kyungsoo ever mentioned his name. You never drag us over anymore because you insist playing games will tip the scales or something,” Sehun continued despite Junmyeon’s attempts to get him to focus. Gossip was more important apparently.

“Does his name even matter?”

Junmyeon answered this time, “Well yeah, we all know him.”

“You what?”

“I was surprised you didn’t,” Kyungsoo said. He was piling spaghetti into bowls. “It’s a big school though, so I didn’t feel like bringing it up. It’s not like I’m all that close to him. My dorm room was nearby and we had a class together in first year.”

“Well that would explain a lot considering he doesn’t mind you whenever I bring you over. He’s also fine with Baekhyun too, which is sort of weird but Baekhyun kept going on about some friend of his so who knows.”

“Have you even tried to get along?” Junmyeon asked. Chanyeol only shrugged.

“Okay that’s enough, dinner’s ready and I’m tired of hearing Chanyeol talk about his neighbour,” Kyungsoo said, putting down plates in front of Junmyeon and Sehun.

“Same,” Sehun agreed, stretching.

“Can we at least go back to Sehun’s fuck buddy or whatever?” Jongin asked, going to help Kyungsoo with the food.

“Out of the question,” Sehun said, shooting him a look.

Junmyeon began putting his books away for after dinner. “I’m interested too.”

Sehun frowned, he couldn’t exactly turn down Junmyeon since they’d known each other for so long but the rest of them being there made everything embarrassing. “Okay fine. We’re not dating but we’re not _fuck buddies,_ happy?”

“Not until you tell us who it is.” Chanyeol said through a mouthful of spaghetti.

“Never.”

“Fair enough,” Chanyeol didn’t particularly want to know anyway.

“But I–” Jongin started.

“Enough,” Kyungsoo said, ending the conversation.

Chanyeol looked at Jongin, who no longer looked half dead. “Smash tournament?”

Jongin’s face brightened before Kyungsoo cut in. “No. Jongin you need a shower and Sehun and I both have a test. Either you sit down and work like you said you would or go home.”

Chanyeol deflated but he put his dishes in the sink and they all sat down in relative silence. It was calm, it was amicable, it was fun, and Chanyeol didn’t feel like chucking an eraser at someone the _entire time_ , despite there being a few moments he came close.

 

–

 

Chanyeol walked over to the only open table in the only cafe near the Faculty of Music holding an overpriced coffee and a muffin. He pulled out his laptop and quickly browsed social media before getting to the few readings he hadn’t managed to do the night before and of the Chinese homework he’d put off for too long. Why he even chose it as an elective he had no idea, probably some faint hope Yixing would help while forgetting he wouldn’t be around to do so. He missed Yixing. He was just getting settled when he heard some familiar voices.

“…He doesn’t stop playing or fiddling around with whatever ten thousand instruments he has until god knows when. No one wants to hear half-assed rock music being plucked on an unplugged electric guitar at 4am through paper thin walls Baekhyun!” the voice whined, loud enough to travel to where he was seated.

Chanyeol glanced over the top of his laptop to see Baekhyun sitting down two tables over with a frothy drink speaking with someone who, by his hair and voice, could only be Jongdae. They were very obviously discussing him so Chanyeol did his best to look casual while he strained to listen, which wasn’t a difficult feat considering they weren’t exactly whispering.

Baekhyun looked at Jongdae over the rim of his cup, “Do you even hear yourself? You literally burst into song at the drop of a hat no matter what time it is. I remember nearly smothering you with a pillow in first year for singing at the ass crack of dawn. _We shared a room,_ it was awful. Just tune it out or something.”

“I can’t improve if I don’t practice when I can, I have to work hard for this scholarship,” Jongdae said defensively, then added more quietly, “Plus I _like_ singing, it makes me feel better. I’m so stressed Baek, I need something to keep me sane.”

Baekhyun just continued to look at him as if his point was proven. “Oh, whose side are you even on? We had an agreement then Baek, you’re just making it sound bad because you don’t want to listen right now.” Jongdae said, hitting him.

Baekhyun shook his head, rubbing his arm. “First of all, I’m hurt you would even _suggest_ I was on any side but yours and second, you only have like one volume: LOUD. I’m just saying it might go two ways. He doesn’t seem happy either.”

“I’m using my voice like I should be, I don’t want to affect my performances by doing it differently.”

“Okay but there are limits.

“Of course there are, it’s not like I only have vocal work but there’s only so much people can take of someone playing the drums when you’re trying to read. Drums are the worst Baekhyun, everyone knows that.” Chanyeol felt a little insulted considering he was proud of his skills even if he knew Jongdae had a point. The singing affected his reading too.

For a moment he thought Baekhyun glanced at him and he jumped, startling the person beside him. When he was sure he was safe, he took a sip of his coffee, feigned interest in his laptop, and kept listening. This conversation was eerily familiar to the many ones he’d had with Kyungsoo.

“…No one wants to hear anyone experimenting with music either; fiddling with different keys and playing the same 8 bars over and over to make adjustments so small I can’t even hear them at all hours of the night without earphones. I get that he’s composing but no one wants to listen to that. He uses real instruments so not only is it loud, he can’t just do it with headphones apparently.”

“Okay I see your point, that’s a lot. Aside from the drums and the composing which kind of suck not gonna lie, is there anything in particular you hate? He’s pretty decent guy all around.” Baekhyun was twirling his straw with his hand. He glanced up at Chanyeol and winked without Jongdae noticing. Chanyeol went red and gave him the finger, earning him a glare from a lady nearby.

The crease in Jongdae’s brow lessened as he sat up straighter, “Actually no, I was surprised. I mean, he hangs around with good people and was nice enough when we met. It was only after that it became like this.”

“I meant musically but it’s nice to hear that too.”

“Musically…right well his voice is deep and rough but not bad and he can definitely play. His composed stuff is decent too…” Jongdae slammed his hand on the table, “Wait that’s not the point. It’s all just loud and unpleasant and I can’t even hear myself think. At least with me it’s just singing.

“Well,” Baekhyun said leaning back, “I really don’t get what your whole beef is. You’re both just loud as fuck in a building full of music students also being loud as fuck. If it’s not drums it’s the trumpet or the violin, it really doesn’t matter where you end up. The guitars and the composing aren’t even that bad and you’re both guilty of singing. Either talk to him and draw a truce or leave it as is.”

Jongdae snorted, “Yeah I don’t think talking is going to change anything. I’ll just figure something else out.”

“Nooo, please talk to him, I don’t want to listen to any more whining,” Baekhyun pleaded. He also looked at Chanyeol when he said this and Chanyeol had a feeling he was talking to both of them, considering he’d dragged Baekhyun out to bowl with him the weekend before and then complained half the time.

“Why do you think I keep you around? Who else am I supposed to whine to?” Jongdae asked. Chanyeol had to agree on that point.

“I feel exploited.” Chanyeol held back a laugh at Baekhyun’s miserable expression. He knew for a fact Kyungsoo was a hair away from feeling exploited enough that he’d start charging Chanyeol for his counsel as well.

“Good, now shut up and drink your coffee. We have class soon,” Jongdae said looking at his watch.

Baekhyun wiped a fake tear from his eye, “I give and give and this is the thanks I get.”

“I paid for that, you ungrateful…”

“You know you love me, now let’s go.” With that they both got up and left the cafe.

Chanyeol unfurled himself from behind his laptop, startling the person who had just sat beside him. He to admit Jongdae had a point, _he_ certainly wasn’t going to making any concessions for some rude loud mouth, even if he could sing well. It was his apartment and he was free to do what he wanted just like Jongdae was free to do whatever he wanted in his. It looked like they were both in this for the long ride. _Just wonderful_ , he thought, imagining future nights of trying to study with German opera and whatever else vocal students had to sing ringing in his ear.

 

–

 

Unfortunately, the need to _discuss_ was to come sooner rather than later. It was just after classes finished and Chanyeol was finally able to relax and listen to some new music that he was thankfully not, in any way, required to analyze for class. He figured should have at least some time to himself before Jongdae got home. He had found some underground record store that was selling vinyl records in bulk for next to nothing and wanted to try them out. He had only just put a record on and settled on the sofa when he heard a trail of cautious notes on a piano, followed by more confident scales and a pair of familiar voices.

“Do you need a warm-up?” It was obviously Baekhyun and this was obviously a practice session judging by the piano and the word “warm-up.” Chanyeol looked forlornly at his record player, knowing it was about to be drowned out once again. He could listen to Baekhyun play for hours on his own, when he did nothing but hammer away at the keys or sing along with his own voice. But when combined with Jongdae in any sense, it was a nightmare. They argued and fought every two minutes and the wonderful, brief moments where they finally got settled and made things were were hardly worth the trouble.

Chanyeol flung an arm across his face. “Whyyyy?” he moaned to no one in particular. He wished he had somewhere to go for some comfortable peace and quiet but Kyungsoo had barred him from visiting on account of the fact that he did nothing but complain when he did. On top of that, Sehun and Jongin’s half of the apartment was a chaotic mess that involved cute, but noisy dogs which were not conducive to work or rest.

Jongdae began his scales with a strong, clear voice that made Chanyeol want to punch something. It didn’t matter that he sounded so damn perfect, he was just so very done. He went to take the record off the player and then grabbed his practice sheet music. He headed towards his beat-up drum kit that he’d managed to pile into one corner despite having almost no space for it. _Two can play at this game_ , he thought, and since they both needed practice he could at least feel justified in what he was about to do. With a short warm-up, he was ready to go and started following along a melody in his head he beat in time with the markings on the score. He was lucky he was taking a practical course in jazz and actually had plenty to work on.

He made it through two and a half runs of the same song before he heard a loud knock at his door. _Figures_ , he thought, realizing the singing had stopped next door once he’d stopped playing. Maybe, just maybe, they’d just let him practice or at least agree to stop if he did, which was ideal. He could easily do some other homework in blissful peace.

The school had practice rooms for a reason and, though Chanyeol never chose to take advantage of them himself because his room was “soundproof,” he hoped he could pressure Jongdae into using them, at least for long term sessions. The current routine of trying to outdo each other in both noise and technique until one person–usually Jongdae because Chanyeol hated losing more than anything–got frustrated enough to give in and let the other do what they wanted before it started all over again. It was all tiring and very unproductive.

Chanyeol scrambled over the many obstacles lying between the drum kit and the door. Jongdae never really spoke to him face to face, so he figured this would be Baekhyun and it was.

“Dae how come you never told me he was hot? _And_ tall? Wow.” Baekhyun smirked and Chanyeol gave him an exasperated look.

“Fuck off Baekhyun, we’re all aware you know what he looks like in all kinds of ways,” Jongdae called from inside his room, “I don’t need any more of gross descriptions, just tell him to stop drumming so loudly.”

Baekhyun looked like he’d really rather not, but he looked up anyway and scratched his cheek with a coy smile on his face. “As you can see, I’ve been told to tell you to ‘tone it down’ which I’m  definitely sure a euphemism for what he really wanted me to say, which was to ‘ _shut the fuck up or he’d shove your drumsticks so far up your ass that you’d never want to look at a drum again so help me god_.’” Chanyeol let a loud laugh escape, echoed by Baekhyun who couldn’t even keep a straight face as he said it.

“And if I don’t?” He smirked down at Baekhyun, wiping tears from his eyes.

Baekhyun schooled his expression into something almost serious and said, “I dunno I’m just the messenger. I’m certainly not going anywhere near your ass again…unless you want me to in which case I’m willing to help negotiate.”

Chanyeol sobered up, “Definitely not. Anyway, I’m a music major too, and I need plenty of practice. I haven’t even started with the cymbals.”

“Oh god no please don’t.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked over to find Jongdae in the hall walking towards them. He looked as tired as Chanyeol felt, dragging his slippers along the carpet.

Chanyeol took the opportunity to take a better look at his beloved neighbour since it had been a while and he hadn’t seen much in the coffee shop. His initial impression of Jongdae was that he was almost a head shorter with a sharp jawline and cheekbones as well as a cat-like mouth, which was currently turned into a frown. Not much had changed except his dark hair was a little longer. He was still as good looking as he was on day one, Chanyeol supposed, but not his type.

“What was the point in making me do this if you were just going to come anyway?” Baekhyun asked, shoving Jongdae aside.

“You were doing a terrible job, I felt you needed backup.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.  Chanyeol coughed to remind them both he was still here.

“Look _Chanyeol_ I have an in-class evaluation tomorrow and I need to practice. The rooms were booked today and I can’t focus with jazz in the background throwing off my timing and messing up recordings,” he did not look impressed and was on the edge of whining, Chanyeol could tell he was trying to stay in control.

“You’re not the only one who needs to focus,” Chanyeol frowned. He wasn’t even being antagonistic for the sake of it. Jazz was hard until you got the swing of things and he hadn’t had much time to practice. “You two are loud enough to overcome the sound of drums anyway.” This was not necessarily true but he was going to stick with it.

Jongdae scoffed and Baekhyun looked vaguely insulted. “We are not _loud._ ” Baekhyun huffed. Loudly.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “The two of you are some of the loudest people on campus.” They both looked personally affronted this time.

The faint sound of a French horn playing stopped and a few sharp footsteps were followed by the squeaking of a door. Soojung, his neighbour across the hall, poked her head out of her room. “Actually, I’d throw all three of you in that category. I can hear you out here even while playing so shut up and get a room.” She slammed the door shut and they all winced. Chanyeol looked at both of them smugly.

“Oh shut up Chanyeol she included you as well,” Baekhyun said before pushing the other two into Chanyeol’s open apartment.

Once inside, Baekhyun arranged the other two so that they faced each other in an attempt to force them to speak before stepping aside to examine every corner of Chanyeol’s room as if he’d never been there before. Chanyeol supposed this was his way of giving them space, a way that was incredibly distracting and not giving the impression he wasn’t there in any way. Chanyeol kept one eye on him in case he did anything funny and the other on Jongdae, who still looked cross.

Neither of them said anything at first, and Chanyeol wasn’t exactly sure how to break the silence. No matter how he went over this situation in his head he could never manage to figure out exactly what he wanted; he just knew he needed to do _something_ to change this situation for his own sanity. There was something about Jongdae’s constant _noise_ , his _presence_ that bothered him in a way he couldn’t ignore even if he tried. It was ever present, managing to seep through the walls between them and into Chanyeol’s life whether he wanted it or not. His connections with Chanyeol’s own friends made the issue all the more pressing.

“One of us is going to have to give in so we can put an end to this.” Chanyeol said, trying to use his intimidating height to his advantage. This definitely wasn’t the mature approach but it was hard to focus with Baekhyun fiddling with his belongings. It also didn’t work.

“What do you mean ‘give in’, this isn’t a standoff? We’re just doing homework.” Jongdae scoffed. He was also glancing at Baekhyun who was loudly opening and closing drawers. He was kind of hard to ignore.

Chanyeol ruffled his hair and brought his hands together, closing his eyes in thought. “Well, what I, uh, meant was we need to figure out how to make this work. I’m tired of trying to drow–” Baekhyun tripped over a sock and nearly knocked over the drum kit causing them all to wince, “–drown you out and I’m sure you feel the same.”

“Of course I do,” Jongdae said while glaring at Baekhyun, “but I have standards I have to meet for class and homework to do, I can’t just _stop._ ” Jongdae said firmly.

Chanyeol took a step closer to Jongdae and leaned in a bit, “You’re not the only one, I have both things to practice _and_ pieces to compose. I can’t do it anywhere else since all of my equipment is here and it requires quiet so I can focus.”

“If you’re trying to get me to use the practice rooms it won’t work, they’re booked solid every time I know I won’t be called into work.” There went one of Chanyeol’s plans. Baekhyun snickered and Chanyeol threw a pen at him.

Jongdae tried not to look like he’d just won some sort of prize and said, “Then maybe we should make a compromise. I can’t handle your playing just whatever on your guitar at 3 a.m. when I have class at 8:30.”

“I can’t handle you humming and singing in the shower at 6:30 a.m. when I’m trying to get some sleep after working late. I have night classes, insomnia, and a job. I don’t have time for homework at 5 p.m.”

“How about this? Since I’m not losing any more sleep because of you, there will be no excess noise from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. You’ll tone it down after that and I’ll tone it down before. Deal?” Jongdae stuck out his hand. Chanyeol bit his lip. He really liked working late into the night and playing aimlessly while exhausted was cathartic but it wasn’t as if he couldn’t do a lot with headphones in, he just preferred not to. Eventually he put his hand out and shook Jongdae’s. It was better than nothing and he liked sleeping in.

“Fucking finally,” Baekhyun breathed, walking back over to them. To Jongdae he said, “Let’s get back so you can go through it again. I’ll even bless you with my godly voice and sing it with you so you can do it right for once.” Chanyeol frowned because Baekhyun was not part of the agreement, but there was nothing either he or Jongdae could do about that. He decided to focus on the fact that they had at least made progress even in still felt the urge to head back to his drum kit like he had every right to do.

On their way out, Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, drawing him from his thoughts. “I have somewhere to be in an hour so I’ll convince him to let you practice after that,” Baekhyun said with a grin. Jongdae didn’t look happy about it when he turned around to glare at Baekhyun but he said nothing to contradict it. It was definitely better than nothing, so Chanyeol could work with it. He let the two of them leave his room hoping their promises weren’t empty.

 

**MESSAGE: Jongdae (neighbour)**

_Jongdae (neighbour): baek left ur free, u have 2 hours_

_yeol: thnx_

_**yeol changed Jongdae (neighbour)’s name to loud asshole**_

 

Chanyeol forgot he’d ever given Jongdae his number. It must have happened when they met in case either of them needed anything and things were still pleasant and quiet. It was far more convenient than having to actually speak with each other, not that he really wanted to do so. Ever. He still wasn’t satisfied for some reason, trying to tap lightly on his high hat in time with the rhythm, but the absence of someone breathing down his neck for once was nice.

 

–

 

The next Sunday brought a new surprise from Jongdae’s apartment. They hadn’t even gone a week on their new schedule and already Chanyeol had something to complain about. He was hunched over his desk trying to arrange his new piece on scraps of blank sheet music, when the dank smell of weed washed over him. He wrinkled his nose. He really didn’t mind the smell while actually getting high but it was disgusting second-hand, especially when you were not in the process of getting high yourself. It just didn’t set the right mood for writing a song about luck and love, especially one that was due for revisions by his prof tomorrow and worth so much of his grade he couldn’t even consider writing it high.

Since couldn’t be high for this nor did he want to be reminded of that fact, he hastily marched over to Jongdae’s room before things got any worse. He rapped on the door as hard and fast as he could and nearly hit Baekhyun in the face when it opened. From the entrance, he could see Jongdae and Minseok, one of their seniors Chanyeol knew from another course he’d taken and his time at the gym, sitting by a bong looking relaxed. From the looks of it, they were all ready to veg out and watch a movie.

“Seriously?” Chanyeol said, huffing a little after his scramble to get out of his room, “It’s Sunday. I have an assignment tomorrow and I don’t need my paper copies reeking of weed.”

“Dude chill, you could probably use this more than we can and we have some good shit here.” Baekhyun said with a conspiratorial nudge that only made Chanyeol scowl.

As much as Chanyeol wanted to consider that offer, he really was behind in that class and this assignment could make or break his chance of passing. “I’m serious, Baekhyun. Can’t you go do this in _your_ dorm or something?”

“No can do, I let Han and Sehun take the spare bedroom in my apartment out of pity and well, you know how things are.” Chanyeol wanted to say he didn’t because he had no idea Sehun was even seeing anyone let alone one of Baekhyun’s roommates. He did, however, know Sehun well enough to never want to know anything about his sex life.

Focusing back on Baekhyun he wrung his hands and all but begged, “Please just no more hits, can’t you just drink and make noise like usual? I can handle that. I bought noise-cancelling headphones special for the occasion.”

“I thought extra noise at night was against your pact or something,” Minseok piped up from the living room. “Didn’t expect you to be the ‘ _noisy as fuck roommate_ ,” Minseok gave him a lopsided grin in greeting.

“Neither did I to be honest,” Chanyeol muttered after nodding towards Minseok, who laughed.

Chanyeol then rounded on Jongdae, “Just this once, make all the noise you want and leave my nose alone. It’s not even quiet hours.”

Jongdae looked exasperated before finally saying, “Fine.” Chanyeol was a little surprised at how quick he was to agree but he decided not to question it. Jongdae started putting the bong away while Minseok opened a window and grabbed a bottle of Febreeze that had been laying on a shelf in the kitchen.

“You want a beer at least?” Baekhyun asked, leaning on the doorway wiggling his eyebrows as the clinking of bottle could be heard from within the apartment.

“No.”

“You need to relax man. You can have me if you want? It’s worked before.” Baekhyun poked Chanyeol’s chest wearing a cheeky grin in a half-hearted attempt at being seductive, largely for Chanyeol’s benefit.

“I’m not doing _anything_ with you ever again Baekhyun, stop flirting. Besides, no one’s supposed to know any of the actual details of what we did, just weird rumours. That was in the break-up clauses,” Chanyeol lowered his voice, checking to see if the others had heard him. He couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice.

“You’re no fun at all, we have to tease them with bits of the truth and keep them wanting more. It adds to the mystery. It could help your future sex life if you let it. For example, it was pretty cute the way you panicked whenever I…” Baekhyun was fighting a smile as he trailed off on purpose reaching towards Chanyeol’s chest. He l snatched Baekhyun’s hands before they could reach their target and held them up.

“Oh, it was _fun_ believe me, crossing off that list was the best thing we did in second year, but I keep hearing more and more, getting odd questions now and then…I wonder why that is?” He could see Minseok was pointedly not looking at them and Jongdae was covering his laughter unsuccessfully by humming.

“Look, somehow more parts of the story got out than I intended and I really can’t keep track of them all. It’s not like we weren’t obvious as fuck,” Baekhyun looked towards Minseok who nodded. “And fine I might have told Jongdae details as it happened because I’ve known him for 14 years and I tell him everything whether he wants to hear it or not, but that’s my business. Kyungsoo knows too, we’ve discussed it before of course because he was worried about that one thing we did on Valentine’s day, so you weren’t silent about this either.”

“I can’t believe you fucking told _him_ of all people,” Chanyeol said in an accusatory tone. _Him_ very obviously referring to Jongdae.

“And I can’t believe we’re doing this now when we could have been getting high and you could have already finished your thing and came to join us.” Baekhyun snapped.

“Ok fine whatever, he’s your friend. I am curious exactly how much you told him though.” Chanyeol looked beyond Baekhyun at Jongdae who had a vaguely neutral expression on as he arranged beer bottles on the table.

“Not much, he was adamant on hearing as little as possible. It was entertaining surprising him with random information. You should be grateful he doesn’t know the worst of it or he might not have wanted to speak to you at all.” Chanyeol let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. The fact that his neighbour was not privy to all of the details of the most bizarre episode of his sex life was a relief, even if he’d rather Jongdae not know about any of it period. “I do know that you told Kyungsoo a lot more than I divulged.”

“I pay him with love to be my conscience.” Baekhyun snorted. “It’s true! I only rattled things off I left out a lot of very specific, incriminating information that Kyungsoo wouldn’t hesitate to use against either of us. I’m not that stupid. For instance,” Chanyeol lowered his voice, “I never told anyone about how much you like my hands and what happened that weekend last January.

“If you tell anyone I’ll be a laughing stock for years. I’ll do whatever you want. I can even help with your thing with Jongdae,” he pleaded.

Chanyeol considered it a good deal and shook on it. “I’m glad we have an agreement. Enjoy your beer.”

He turned on his heel and went back to his room to finish his assignment.

“Evil bastard,” Baekhyun muttered from somewhere behind him. “See if I ever go on a date with you again.” Baekhyun walked back into the room, closing the door behind him as if it did much to keep him from being heard through the wall instead.

“I still can’t believe you dated _Chanyeol_ of all people. No, I lied, I can believe it but I don’t want to think about it anymore.” There was a muffled sound. “Do not remind me of anything that happened during that time I lived through it once,” he heard Jongdae complaining.

“He’s funny, he’s tall, he’s hot, and he’s a nice guy Dae, even aside from the fucking,” he heard Baekhyun’s low grumble through the wall. “He was a pretty sweet boyfriend, he even brought be flowers.” Minseok said something as a follow-up but Chanyeol didn’t quite catch it.

“I’ve said enough. I’ve had enough trying to understand, especially now that I’ve actually met him.”

“It was definitely worth it, if you ever want to think about it.” Baekhyun said. Chanyeol really wished he could hit him from here.

“I do not want to think about it. Ever.”

Minseok broke in to keep Baekhyun from driving the entire conversation into the gutter. “Other things aside, like Baekhyun said, he’s actually a fun guy if you give him a chance Dae.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun continued, “Do Kyungsoo–the one from culinary arts that everyone thinks is top candidate for potential serial killer slash cutest boy on campus–is even friends with him. Even Sehun is mildly tolerant of him and Jongin loves him. I don’t know why you have a stick up your ass.”

“If I have a stick up my ass so does he. It’s not like we have to like each other nor is it like I’m bothering anyone else with this. If he’s such a nice guy I guess he’s an asshole just for me. How special.” Jongdae sounded exasperated, like they’d been through this before.

“You’re not the sort to do this thing either Mr. Nice-Guy Volunteer.” Minseok added. “We’re just saying it’s out of character for both of you to be like this.”

Chanyeol actually didn’t hear Jongdae’s response because his phone went off while he was in the middle of relaying this new info to his friends. Minseok’s statement had reminded him of how little he knew of Jongdae beyond what he heard between the rooms. It was bizarre hearing how many mutual friends they had without having met properly.

It didn’t matter to Chanyeol how Jongdae acted towards everyone else since he didn’t plan on not being a jerk to him.

 

**GROUP CHAT: Bros *no homo **maybe a little homo**

_yeol: (…is typing)_

 

_Ksoo: If this is about Jongdae again I don’t want to hear it._

_Ksoo: You don’t need to report everything to me._

_Ksoo: Talking about Baekhyun also counts._

 

_yeol: Baek called you a serial killer._

 

_Ksoo: Good. Let them fear me._

 

_yeol: he also called you cute_

 

_Ksoo: You have my permission to murder him._

 

_yeol: forget baek, we’re talking about the loudass_

 

_sehunnie: just suck his dick maybe he’ll stop_

 

_nini: don’t do that_

_nini: wait that might work_

 

_yeol: im not sucking his dick ew_

 

_Ksoo: you sucked baek’s i don’t even know how many times there’s not much difference_

 

_yeol: we don’t talk about that_

 

_sehunnie: you even did it in OUR apartment_

 

_nini: wait what when did THAT happen_

 

_sehunnie: while ago dw ill show you proof later_

 

_**Chanyeol changed sehunnie’s name to brat**_

 

_yeol: the fuck do you mean by proof_

 

_brat: better if you don’t know_

 

_yeol: you’re going to tell me, just like you’re going to talk about han and what’s up with that_

 

_brat: i have the right to remain silent_

 

_Ksoo: Forget all of that and figure out a way to make this work, I’m tired of your whining. If you_

_don’t you’re never getting a dessert from me again._

 

_yeol: that’s completely uncalled for soo_

_yeol: and I’ll make him crack before dick sucking is even on the table_

 

_brat: so you admit it’s a potential candidate for being on the table_

 

_yeol: i’m done with you_

 

_brat: you love me_

 

_yeol: im going to do my homework in peace now_

 

_brat: just remember what i said about dick sucking, it’s v effective_

 

_Ksoo: Sehun._

 

_brat: i only speak the truth_

_brat: NO DON’T COME IN MY ROOM I’LL STOP_

 

Putting down his phone, he looked down at his homework. It was pretty much finished, or as good as it was going to get at this point. He took off his headphones and could hear voices talking over a movie next door. Wordlessly he reached for his gym bag and walked out the door. It was only 9 p.m. and he figured he’d be productive elsewhere than sitting here in frustration. More months of this and he’d be ripped, so he Jongdae to thank for that at least.

 

–

 

When his music theory class was over Junmyeon, a childhood friend of Sehun’s and Chanyeol’s group partner for their latest assignment, walked over to him in the hall with a determined expression. He was a member of their sprawling friend group but when it came to certain things he was pretty strict. Chanyeol groaned internally, knowing exactly why he was coming over. Chanyeol hadn’t finished his portion of the project on account of their apartment rules and Junmyeon was the type to try and keep everyone organized and in line when it came to group projects.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

_yeol: dude im fucked help_

 

It got even worse. He was trying to come up with some sort of explanation and plan of action when he realized Jongdae was rummaging through his bag on a bench not too far from them. He looked up when he saw Junmyeon coming closer and his expression brighted until he realized it was Chanyeol he was on his way to speak to.

“Junmyeon I’d really rather not talk about it right,” he said quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything. “I’m doing my best to get it done, it’ll happen I promise.”

Junmyeon looked a little confused and frowned, stepping in Chanyeol’s way when he tried to escape. “We _need_ to talk about it though, the project is due tomorrow and we need this musical reinterpretation of the theory which is _your_ part. The rest of us have all finished our parts.”

People kept walking past them and obstructing his vision but he could tell Jongdae was clearly listening in on their conversation as he pretended to organize the contents of his bag for the second time. “I know, I know,” Chanyeol said, saying what he could to placate Junmyeon as fast as possible, “please trust that I am very much aware of this fact. We do have a group chat after all. I just can’t exactly play the instruments needed to record the track in time for your midnight deadline, not with work on top if it.”

“Then make the time, this project is worth a lot of our grade,” Junmyeon’s brow was furrowed, he was not happy.

Junmyeon was right about their grade, if he didn’t get his shit together he’d ruin it for all five of them. He cast a hesitant glance at Jongdae and made a decision; curfew be damned, he was going to do whatever it took to get this done. In general, he’d been trying to keep with their agreement but extenuating circumstances had to count for something. Besides, he really didn’t want to encounter an angry Junmyeon. Jongdae was already mad at him and that was quite enough for now.

“Ok, I’ll see what I can do. I can probably finish by dawn if I factor quality into it,” Chanyeol said, feeling the daggers Jongdae was staring at him. He was not impressed and was making it very obvious. Chanyeol was about to walk into a conversation even scarier than this one.

On the bright side, Junmyeon looked much happier once he’d agreed and a happier Junmyeon was better for everyone. “Thank you so much for doing this, I’ll have the paper and speech ready for you tomorrow. All you have to do is read.”

“Perfect,” Chanyeol gave him a big fake grin, “See you tomorrow!” Once Junmyeon was gone and satisfied, Jongdae walked up to him, scowl of god on his face. He’d been careful to avoid Junmyeon so he could come onto Chanyeol directly.

“Breaking our arrangement yet again?” he said, squinting up at Chanyeol. He looked remarkably intimidating for someone so small.

“You clearly missed the part where I really have no choice in the matter,” Chanyeol said, holding up his hands since, really, he had little choice in the matter.

“Procrastination isn’t good for you Chanyeol, nor is staying up all night. I need sleep to function and your actual recordings are loud as fuck.”

Chanyeol softened his expression and pleased, “It’s just one more time, give me a break. I’ll get the instruments done fast once I get back from work at 9 and arrange everything with my headphones on.”

“You said that last time and I couldn’t sleep a wink because of your retakes. I also asked that you warn me if you were ever going to do something like this again so I could crash somewhere else or whatever.” Jongdae wasn’t budging on this. He was clearly not impressed.

Chanyeol deflated a bit before remembering his own sleepless night when Jongdae was helping Minseok with a presentation and they were up running lines until 4am. That wasn’t even the only incident. Chanyeol matched Jongdae’s glare. “I seem to recall you reciting lyrics over and over the other day all night. You kept messing up which was annoying on its own, but your poor piano playing and the fact that you were singing at _full volume_ meant that I was stuck lying there for hours. The song was stuck in my head for _days._ ” His words echoed through the hallway before dying out.

“It seems like these exceptions aren’t going to end,” Jongdae sounded resigned, maybe regretful, Chanyeol wasn’t sure.

“Nope,” Chanyeol said, smacking his lips obnoxiously on the “p,” causing Jongdae to roll his eyes. “Maybe this arrangement won’t work out after all.”

“Are you serious? I’ve only broken it twice: once for my recitation when I had one day to memorize that song and misjudged how long it would take, and the other when Minseok dragged himself over in tears asking for help. He bought you dinner after that, it wasn’t even _my doing_. You’re acting like you don’t care whether you keep it or not. I’m just trying to suggest maybe we get better at time management or whatever so this doesn’t suck as much as it already does.”

“As if that’s ever going to happen.” His time management skills were so abysmal that the days all seemed to bleed into one another and he was always ten steps behind no matter what he did, there was nothing Jongdae could say or do to change that. “And anyway, you’re not budging either.”

“Look, I used to live with Baekhyun and we made it work, this isn’t much different from then. Please, just try and be reasonable.”

“Maybe this is just a situation that defies reason.” It sounded stupid even as Chanyeol said it but he was tired and wanted to leave. He had to go teach another seven-year-old how to play basic chords.

“Now you’re just being stupid. Neither of us is moving out Chanyeol so we’re going to have to figure something out.

“I’m done with this conversation. I have to talk to the prof to check and see if I can get away with doing this as quietly as possible, or at least I was, my mind might have changed since then. Who knows? As for tonight, you might want to invest in earplugs.”

“If only they worked,” Jongdae grumbled, brushing past Chanyeol and walking towards Minseok who was just exiting a classroom. Jongdae muttered something to him and he gave Chanyeol a complicated look before following along.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how chanbaek and Baekhyun himself ended up so ridiculous but I just sort of went with it. Only they know the details of what went down. (Yes, I know Jongdae isn't really that loud normally, but he gets excited sometimes and does like to sing, plus the walls are thin).
> 
> ** My Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


	2. Chapter 2

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

_ KSoo: What did you need? _

 

_ yeol: i hate jongdae _

_ yeol: but what else is new _

_ yeol: can you come over tomorrow? _

 

_ KSoo: I guess?? _

_ KSoo: What happened this time? _

 

_ yeol: i have an assignment _

_ yeol: and completing it breaches company policy _

_ yeol: but that’s not why i asked _

 

_ KSoo: Sucks to be you, can’t say I didn’t see this coming. _

_ KSoo: You’re bad at this sort of thing. _

_ yeol: you’re such a supportive friend _

_ KSoo: You knew what to expect when you signed up for this friendship. So, what exactly do you need me for. _

 

_ yeol: movie night quiet style _

_ yeol: it’s for class but I need one anyway _

_ yeol: bring popcorn and the rest _

_ yeol: you can even sleep on my bed _

 

_ KSoo: Done. If you cling to me you die. _

_ yeol: You love my hugs. K byee~ _

 

Chanyeol put away his phone before he got any more death threats. Since regular noise was not prohibited he felt it’d be safe to do this since he usually let Baekhyun slide and so did Jongdae when he chose to grace Chanyeol’s presence instead. Baekhyun was a force of nature and while Kyungsoo might be one too, he wasn’t a loud one.

 

–

 

“So,” Kyungsoo said between bites of his pasta, “what kind of movie are we watching?”

They were sitting in one of the better cafeterias on campus after Kyungsoo had messaged Chanyeol about his leftover tarts. At the mention of free dessert Chanyeol had all but sprinted from class to get there before Kyungsoo had the opportunity to hand them to anyone else. Luckily, Kyungsoo was sitting in his usual empty corner of the cafeteria.

“I need to watch a musical for class. One of those things where we look at how well the music goes with the plot or whatever.” Chanyeol announced in-between inhaling tarts Kyungsoo had finished baking in class 30 minutes before. Chanyeol’s lunch had long been forgotten.

“I’m not going unless it’s the  _ Sound of Music _ .” Kyungsoo said, pulling the container of pecan tarts away from Chanyeol’s reaching fingers.

“I was thinking  _ Singing in the Rain _ actually, but I will entertain that as an option,” Chanyeol said, reaching hard for the tarts. Somehow, they still eluded his outstretched fingers, despite the fact that his arms were considerably longer than Kyungsoo’s.

Chanyeol would agree to pretty much anything if it meant making Kyungsoo happy enough to share his wonderful cooking. But even more than that, he had a soft spot for Kyungsoo’s voice and knew he’d hum, and maybe even sing along to the songs. It didn’t really matter which musical he chose for the project, he figured he could just roll with it and make it one of their standard movie nights.

Kyungsoo paused in thought, giving Chanyeol his chance to grab the container and shove another tart into his mouth. “We can watch both,” he said, “I have nothing better to do tonight and both are classics. I just have one rule. You’re not allowed to go off about Jongdae, even if he makes noise. From what my sources tell me, you’re the one being the most ridiculous about all of this.”

“Please stop, I don’t want to hear anything about that. I’m fine just watching the movie but no more rules,” Chanyeol groaned, resting his head on his arms. “Sure, I was too much there, but I was stressed and Junmyeon was asking for a lot. Jongdae hasn’t even turned it down that much. He’s just loud period.” His voice was all muffled and he couldn’t see Kyungsoo to gage his reaction. This was all so tiring, he just wanted to focus on movie night with his friend.

“Fine. But sooner or later you’re going both going to have to deal with this in a mature way.” And that was the end of that.

 

–

 

A few hours later they were sitting on Chanyeol’s beat-up couch with a bowl of popcorn and a few cans of pop. Chanyeol insisted on none of their usual beer, since he had to actually take notes during the film. His keyboard was going to be disgusting and slick with the grease of the butter but popcorn was a must for any movie night.

Their last movie night had been just over a week ago but it felt much longer with the amount of time he’d spent stuck in his room doing work. He only really left for school, where he spent all of his time not taking midterms frantically going through notes and practicing however he could. He’d broken several pencils trying to use them as drumsticks. He felt lonely with all of the hours spent alone, not counting Jongdae who was eternally present on the other side of the wall also practicing for midterms.

He thought for a moment that over exposure to each other might be a big cause of their anger, which was probably right, but there was only so much time they could spend outside their own houses. The fact that they were basically free to do anything outside of the agreement meant that nothing else had really changed. Jongdae’s voice still floated through the walls just as Chanyeol’s noise did the same.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were halfway through the opening number of the Sound of Music in all its glory before Chanyeol could hear a voice faintly singing, “ _ The hills are alive, with the sound of music~ _ ” in time with Julie Andrews. Chanyeol groaned and threw popcorn at the wall. The fact that he sounded so perfect singing along made him even more upset. No one was supposed to sound that good singing along with a movie. 

Kyungsoo, who had been quietly humming along, laughed. “Oh shut up,” Chanyeol said darkly, angrily typing a few notes down on the word document before him.

“He really does have a nice voice, it’s not  _ that _ distracting. At least he’s not off-key. Just focus on the movie. I know you’re going to start singing sometime in the next fifteen minutes.”

“I will not.” Chanyeol said, crossing his arms and staring at the TV as the nuns started singing about Maria. Jongdae sang along to this song as well, managing to somehow sing in the original female key for parts of it and then harmonize for the rest.

“You know, this whole thing is kind of hilarious, maybe we should just invite him over to actually watch it with us,” Kyungsoo mused, taking a sip of his pop. “Might be fun. 

“Absolutely not, it’ll just get worse. I’m pretty this is more of a case of “ _ How do you solve a problem like Jongdae~ _ ” he sang, mockingly.

Through the wall he heard, “ _ How do catch Chanyeol and pin him down~ _ ” in a similar, yet somehow more infuriating tone. Chanyeol was ready to cut a bitch until Kyungsoo shoved popcorn into his face.

“Just do your assignment, I’m trying to watch.” Chanyeol closed his mouth, silently fuming but also tapping along to the next number despite himself.

Usually Jongdae had something better to do on weeknights than listen to films through walls but apparently not tonight. Chanyeol already knew he’d be hearing these songs on repeat for the rest of the week, outside quiet hours of course. Jongdae had a habit of randomly breaking into song no matter what he was doing. It was the worst during his showers, which, thankfully, weren’t too long.

At some point during the first movie, Chanyeol had stopped paying attention to Jongdae, as Kyungsoo had predicted, and they’d all started some sort of bizarre trio through the walls. It got even worse during  _ Singing in the Rain. _ Chanyeol would never admit it to anyone but it was the most fun he’d had in his own apartment in a long time, even if he got almost nothing down for his assignment. He figured the fact that the audience, even if they were mortal enemies, could get so invested in the film’s music and the story with one person not even present to watch said film, they were doing their job marrying song and film.

 

–

 

“Oof.” Chanyeol had backed into someone while he stepped away from the table where he’d been eating lunch with Jongin, still waving goodbye. He spun around to apologize only to be met with Jongdae’s unimpressed face. This was exactly what Chanyeol needed on what was otherwise a decent Thursday morning.

Remembering he was a decent person with manners, Chanyeol apologized, “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

“It’s fine,” Jongdae said, “I wasn’t paying attention anyway.” His tone was a little icy and Chanyeol realized why when he saw Jongdae’s coffee had fallen, soaking his sneakers.

Feeling guilty, he ran grab a ridiculous number of napkins and helped Jongdae clean it up as fast as possible. They made quick work of it. 

“Well, uh, sorry again,” he said awkwardly. “I have to get to class now or I’ll be late so I’m going to leave,” Chanyeol said, trying to escape as soon as possible. He then remembered their classes were in the same direction and they were both late so he couldn’t exactly go out of his way to avoid him. They were stuck together on the long walk to the music building in the crisp fall air, Jongdae’s sneakers still soaked with coffee.

Without another word, they both made their way up the hill to the music building. Chanyeol made sure to walk a few steps ahead, part of the advantage of having long legs. Aside from their musical viewing, if that even counted, this was the first time he’d been face to face with Jongdae since their last conversation and he’d rather keep conversation to a minimum.

Things were quiet and peaceful until Jongdae sped up to match Chanyeol’s pace.

“So,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling up, “Musicals, eh?”

“We’re late Jongdae,” Chanyeol said flatly. He didn’t turn his head from their destination.

“I’m just curious, you only ever watch old films or action flicks, why the change?” Chanyeol, of course, didn’t question how he knew this.

It was another five-minute walk to the building but time was starting to stretch out into an eternity. He opened his mouth to talk hoping time would start to move faster.

“First of all, Musicals are great so leave me alone and second, you were singing along the entire time so you can’t have minded. You were pretty fucking loud about it.” He glanced over at Jongdae who still looked amused for some reason.

“Please, everyone knows  _ The Sound of Music, _ ” Jongdae scoffed. “I just didn’t expect it when it was suddenly coming through the wall. I sang because I was just feeling nostalgic and jour jab at me was also begging for a response.”

Chanyeol waved that away, “You  _ are _ a problem. Anyway, you have Kyungsoo to thank for that one, he insisted.”

“And you deserve to be caught and pinned down,” Jongdae said with mock seriousness. “I’m beginning to think Kyungsoo is a man of taste and talent. I could hear him singing too.”

“You would be right,” Chanyeol admitted. Kyungsoo would probably really like Jongdae if they ever got the chance to meet. Which would be never because Chanyeol didn’t want to share him. He changed the subject. “You do know an awful lot more show tunes than that though. I can hear you in the shower.”

“How–?” Jongdae began but the question died in his mouth.

“Our walls might as well not exist. Besides, you sing at the top of your lungs like all the time, how am I not supposed to hear?”

“Ok fine, but don’t tell Baekhyun how much ABBA I sing or I will kill you.” Jongdae looked so serious Chanyeol burst into laughter.

Trying to control his giggles he managed to say, “Bold of you to assume he doesn’t already know that.”

Jongdae shook his head, “If he did, I’d know. He’s yet to drag me onto a table at parties and make me sing because ‘I don’t know the words.’” Jongdae made air quotes for effect then muttered, “As if I’d make an idiot of myself drunkenly belting out Dancing Queen with a beer bottle for a microphone with that idiot. He’s been trying to catch me for _ years _ .”

“You never know, that rat bastard seems to know everything.” That got a smile out of Jongdae. It lit up his face brilliantly. Chanyeol’s lips twitched in response–Jongdae had a contagious smile and maybe,  _ just maybe _ it made him a little more endearing. At the very least, Chanyeol was starting to see why people willingly spent time with him. He was easy to talk to and a little fun to watch musicals with, through the walls of course.

“Exactly!” Jongdae exclaimed, “How does he even get that much dirt? His hair isn’t even big enough to be full of secrets! He could blackmail me for years with all of the info he has.”

“Nothing is sacred when it comes to him,” Chanyeol was laughing again, at the appropriate Mean Girls reference and at the relatability of Jongdae’s plight. Baekhyun was one of the few things they had in common, unfortunate as it may be. 

“I’ve been cleaning up his messes since we were  _ eight. _ He’s a menace. I’m a little shocked I never had to intervene with your…thing. He told me almost everything.”

“Please don’t,” Chanyeol groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Wait…you mean  _ everything _ ?” He hadn’t exactly told anyone what they were doing the entire time because he couldn’t even figure out what to say and here Baekhyun was rattling off to his childhood friend. His childhood friend who probably knew more about Chanyeol than he ever needed to.

“Sorry. He refuses to bring it up anymore so you’re safe on that front. I swore never to reveal anything I heard about it, not that I would considering I effectively bleached it from my memory. I also had no idea who you were so I had no one to connect it to.” Jongdae gave him a reassuring smile. If Jongdae hadn’t called him out on any of the weird shit after this long he figured he was fine.

I’m kind of worried about Sehun though,” Jongdae said. “Baekhyun keeps trying to turn him into his protégé or something.” 

Chanyeol nodded, “Sehun has been his brightest and most terrible pupil.”

Jongdae started laughing. “He really is, anyway we better get to class. See you!” Jongdae said cheerfully as he took the stairs upwards while Chanyeol walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

This was easily the best conversation they’d had and he was reluctant to let it end. Maybe he could move on and consider actually taking things seriously, things had been decent as of late and his stress levels were low enough for rational thought.

 

–

 

Long, steady notes rang out through the wall with absolute clarity and perfect vibrato. Jongdae was singing in some European language Chanyeol couldn’t decipher for his classical opera class or whatever, which meant crazy dynamics and some attempts at acting. Definitely not his kind of thing. He missed the show tunes in the shower. Jongdae’s rendition of the Music of the Night was fantastic and Chanyeol was surprised in how deep Jongdae’s voice could actually go.

As annoying as this was, there was no point in trying to disrupt him. Chanyeol only needed to edit this piece before he could game in peace with his giant, noise-cancelling headphones. He’d dropped a lot of cash on them, but they were more effective and useful than earplugs.

A loud *THUNK* on the door shook the entire room. He jumped in his seat, clutching his heart, which was now beating wildly. He had to take a few deep breaths before stumbling over to the door and looking through the peephole. Outside stood his favourite ex-something and Minseok, holding bags of food. Chanyeol unlocked and opened the door.

“Hi!” Baekhyun said brightly, “We brought food!” Minseok was smiling apologetically behind him and held up the bag full of chicken wings.

“Why are you here?” Chanyeol cut straight to the point.

Before Baekhyun could answer Minseok said, “Jongdae kicked us out because we were loud and he’s on a special diet at the moment so no chicken wings for him. We didn’t feel like going all the way back to my apartment so…”

Chanyeol looked at both of them in turn and said slowly, “So you came  _ here _ ?” 

“Yep,” Baekhyun chirped. “Kyungsoo said you needed to interact with real people anyway. You’ve been in here all weekend with only poor Jongdae to keep you company so here we are with conversation and free food.” Who was he to say no to free food.

Chanyeol made a mental note to throttle Kyungsoo and then another to  _ not _ do that because he didn’t have a death wish, and pulled out his phone.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

_ yeol: stop telling people i need interaction _

_ yeol: im busy _

 

_ yeol: im not going to murder jongdae _

_ yeol: i might murder baek but no one will miss him anyway _

 

_ KSoo: Shut up and appreciate your food. _

 

_ yeol: and stop talking to baekhyun _

 

_ KSoo: He’s the one who talks to me. _

_ KSoo: He “has your best interests at heart.” _

_ KSoo: Allegedly. _

 

Baekhyun coughed and Chanyeol looked up from his phone. “Sorry, needed to change dinner plans,” he lied. The other two seemed to believe him. “Anyway, how do you even know Kyungsoo?” he asked.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “I know everyone. Aside from this one class we took, I met him playing with the dogs at Sehun’s place and we talk now and then, mostly to gossip about you to be honest. You’re a fun topic.” Baekhyun was baiting him and he knew it so he let it drop.

“Anyway, we were hoping we could hang with you for a while, keep you from your boredom,” Minseok said, cutting in.

“Uh yeah sure, come right in.” There was no point in protesting, giving up free food went against every one of Chanyeol’s principles. 

Half an hour later their hands were covered in sauce and they were laughing their asses off at Baekhyun’s impression of Yifan when things don’t go exactly as planned for him after trying to look cool. It was uncanny and only one of many impressions he had up his sleeve. Chanyeol had probably hit Baekhyun fifty times after realizing laughing while sitting next to Minseok was probably not the best idea. Baekhyun wasn’t nearly as toned or threatening.

There was a “thunking” at the door for the second time that night. Minseok stood up and answered it before the others could blink.

Jongdae was standing there, smiling. “I’ve come to steal my friends back,” he said smoothly, but there was an edge to his voice. It was a little uncalled for considering they came here on their own. On the other hand, there was no more food now so any anger was valid.

“What makes you think we were stolen? You kicked  _ us _ out.” Minseok said through a final mouthful of chicken.

Chanyeol pushed past Minseok and effectively blocked the door frame, towering over a pouting Jongdae. “See, they decided to come here on their own.”

“You’re all traitors for coming here, I thought we had an agreement.” Jongdae said as if Chanyeol wasn’t standing right in front of him.

“What agreement? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chanyeol turned back to see an incredulous look on Baekhyun’s face. “We breathed and you betrayed us by kicking us to the curb. We were left to find somewhere to eat. Honestly, if anyone should be upset it’s us. Chanyeol doesn’t even have decent beer.”

“We’re allowed to have mutual friends Jongdae, you can’t stop us from being here,” Minseok said from behind Chanyeol.

“I don’t believe this,” Jongdae muttered, “Of all people you pick  _ him _ ?” Jongdae gestured towards at Chanyeol. He still refused to acknowledge Chanyeol’s presence, which was starting to get annoying.

Minseok looked between the hallway and Chanyeol’s room, “He literally lives next door.”

“I did try and kick them out,” Chanyeol said loudly enough that someone might actually pay attention to him, “But you and I both know Baek leaves even if you try. Besides, Minseok is right, they can be my friends if they want. They already are.”

“Or more than friends!” Baekhyun piped up.

“No,” the other three said at the same time.

“Wait I thought I was the only one…” Chanyeol started, only to see Minseok shaking his head making it clear he had no piece of  _ that. _ He knew Jongdae and Baekhyun were childhood friends and didn’t want to know anything more.

“Why are you here anyway, I thought you had work to do? We weren’t being loud enough to disturb and it’s still early. They were probably going to head back soon.”

“You were fine and I’ve already finished my work. I’m here to ask them if they’re coming to Zetao’s party or not.” His tone indicated the invitation did not extend to Chanyeol. He wasn’t in the mood for a party anyway and he wasn’t sure if anyone else he knew was going to be there.

“You know it!” Baekhyun said, nearly knocking his empty box of chicken from the table.

“Let me borrow your gel and eyeliner!” He sped past Chanyeol and disappeared into Jongdae’s apartment without waiting for an answer.

“You coming too?” Minseok was kind enough to ask, despite it being quite clear he was not welcome.

Chanyeol looked pointedly down at his ratty sweats and black t-shirt and rose his eyebrows. “Does It look like I’m going anywhere tonight? I got too hungover last time and I have a class tomorrow morning.”

“You’ve gone like that before,” Jongdae said looking him up and down. Chanyeol wasn’t even aware he’d ever paid any attention. Actually, Chanyeol couldn’t recall ever seeing him much at all before this whole fiasco, even if he was childhood friends with Baekhyun. He’d never even stopped to wonder why. Jongdae was loud and bright enough to stand out in a crowd if he wanted to.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Just put on some jeans, your t-shirt is fine,” Minseok smiled at him. That cute kitten look might be deadly but Chanyeol was dead set on staying.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“He said he was good, now let’s go.” Jongdae said, guiding Minseok back to his own room. “We just have to wait for Baek, grab the alcohol, and then we can go.”

As they walked away Chanyeol realized Jongdae was already dressed for a night out. His hair was purposefully messy, he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans so tight they looked like a second skin.  _ Can he even breathe in those? _ Begrudgingly, Chanyeol allowed himself to admit that Jongdae had a pretty cute ass and those jeans did wonders for it. Why he wore such baggy clothing all the time was beyond him. He added it to one of Jongdae’s several redeeming qualities, not really sure why he was keeping track. He wasn’t above giving credit where credit was due, just like how Jongdae was a fantastic singer. Same difference really.

Baekhyun decided he was going to walk out at that moment and catch Chanyeol looking. An evil look gleamed in his freshly lined eyes, between carefully styled brown bangs. Chanyeol wanted to drown himself, knowing  _ exactly _ how Baekhyun was going to interpret it. Instead of saying anything, he looked at Minseok and pulled out a bottle of vodka from somewhere, “Ready for the pre?” he asked them. He spared a wink for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol endured their noises for another fifteen minutes. When was sure they were gone he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was good to go for the rest of the night. It was his first free night in a while and he planned to take advantage of it as much as he could.

Just as he closed the door behind him his phone buzzed loudly.

 

**MESSAGE: (DO NOT RESPOND)**

_ (DO NOT RESPOND): I saw you ogling that ass _

 

_ yeol - my contact info tells me not to respond to whoever this is _

 

_ (DO NOT RESPOND) - i see how it is _

_ (DO NOT RESPOND) - it’s baekhyun _

 

_ yeol: of course it is _

_ yeol: how did you even get my number? _

 

_ (DO NOT RESPOND): you gave it to me?? _

_ (DO NOT RESPOND): we were friends even before the thing yeol _

_ (DO NOT RESPOND): memory of a goldfish much _

 

_ yeol: ohhh right _

_ yeol: why do i have you saved as do not respond? _

_ yeol: no wait you’re annoying that’s why _

 

_ **Chanyeol changed (NO NOT RESPOND)’s name to baek** _

 

_ baek: rude _

_ baek: but in need specifics _

 

_ yeol: i _

_ yeol: wait no, that drunk booty call you gave me _

_ yeol: i did it after that _

 

_ baek: fair _

_ baek: whatever _

_ baek: jongdae has a cute ass you have good taste _

 

_ yeol: why don’t you go chase it then _

 

_ baek: been there done that got nowhere _

 

_ yeol: lmao _

_ yeol: how’d you manage to fuck that one up _

 

_ baek: he’s blind and we were friends so it was kind of weird _

_ baek: also, he said something about having standards and focusing on his education _

_ baek: …is typing _

 

_ yeol: I’d have to agree on that _

 

_ baek: hey dickface you didn’t seem to have a problem with me _

 

_ yeol: i was young and wanted my dick sucked _

_ yeol: much regret _

 

_ baek: keep telling yourself that _

 

_ yeol: ok maybe i don’t _

_ yeol: but I don’t even think i remember all of it _

_ yeol: we did a lot _

 

_ baek: that’s what makes it fun~ _

_ baek: anyway, you can try going for it, might help fix whatever the fuck your deal is with each other _

_ baek: and by that i mean your issue with him _

 

_ yeol: fuck off baek, sehun already tried that _

 

_ baek: he did? Im so proud _

 

_ yeol: stay away from that boy _

 

_ baek: he’s a big boy, he can be part of my cult if he wants _

_ baek: anyway your loss _

_ baek: you’re kind of his type _

_ baek: but if you tell anyone i said that you’ll regret it _

 

_ yeol: doesn’t matter if he isn’t MY type _

 

_ baek: we’re getting out of the car _

_ baek: shit, g2g byee~ _

 

–

 

Now with a solid chunk of time to do whatever the fuck he wanted and not get shit for being loud he did what all good college students should and not get any work done at all. All work should be done when he had a professional excuse to be loud and all freedom should be used for pleasure was his motto in life. No homework on Friday nights was also in his code. In this case, it was time to get back to working on his guitar skills, so neglected from being forced to play classical guitar as part of his major. He happily plugged in his electric guitar and opened a few windows on his computer with the chords for a few new songs he wanted to play.

Chanyeol was practicing complicated chord transitions in-between whatever song came to mind when his phone went off again. It was Kyungsoo.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

_ KSoo: Where are you? _

_ KSoo: Why aren’t you at the party? _

_ KSoo: You’re always at the party. _

 

_ yeol: since when do you go to parties?? _

 

_ KSoo: I don’t, Sehun dragged me here because Han was supposed to show and he couldn’t go alone and Jongin couldn’t come because one of their dogs is sick. _

_ KSoo: Or something. _

_ KSoo: Save me. _

 

_ yeol: sucks to be you, I have a date with my guitar _

 

_ KSoo: *finger emoji* _

_ yeol: don’t drink too much, people will start to find out you’re cute~ _

 

_ KSoo: I’m not cute. _

 

_ yeol: when you giggle you are _

 

_ KSoo: Never say that again. _

_ KSoo: Fuck, I just want to leave I can’t even see anything because Sehun made me take off my glasses. _

 

_ yeol: at least you’ll be safe from people thinking you’re cute _

 

_ KSoo: Point. I’m going to sit with the other miserable people _

_ KSoo: Oh, your neighbour is here. _

 

_ yeol: im aware, i’m enjoying the sound of his silence _

_ yeol: soojung came to yell at me though when i turned my amp to full volume _

_ yeol: she’s kinda hot when she’s mad _

 

_ KSoo: There’s a reason she and Jongdae are pissed at you. _

_ KSoo: You sort of don’t care about your own noise. _

 

_ yeol: yeah whatever, i finally get to play my guitar in peace _

_ yeol: i’m happy and don’t care _

_ yeol: so, what are they doing _

 

_ KSoo: I’m not creeping people for you. _

_ yeol: so you’re just going to sit there sipping your drink doing nothing? _

_ yeol: look at it this way you can look at your phone and not die of boredom _

 

_ KSoo: Fine. _

_ KSoo: they’re playing beer pong _

_ KSoo: Baekhyun is winning. _

_ KSoo: Jongdae is whining now, god he’s so loud. How do you live with this? _

_ KSoo: Oh no now he’s winning Baek looks pissed. He’s STILL loud. _

_ KSoo: More shots. That is a lot of alcohol. Wow. _

_ KSoo: Someone made me take a shot of something. _

_ KSoo: I hate parties. _

_ KSoo: They’re singing now. _

_ KSoo: I’m hiding they know I can sing. _

 

–

 

Chanyeol was dying. Kyungsoo was so much more vocal when he was drunk and it was apparently no different over text. He also managed to use proper punctuation which was really cute for some reason. His replies came slower than usual but that was totally fine. It was a little bizarre hearing first-hand what his neighbour was like at parties but “know thy enemy” was also a thing. After a pause, Kyungsoo messaged again.

 

–

 

_ KSoo: I can’t find Sehun, he’s my ride back and I can’t let him leave without me. _

_ yeol: Kyungsoo?? _

_ yeol: where did you go?? _

_ yeol: did you find him?? _

_ KSoo: He’s dead to me. _

_ KSoo: Junmyeon drove me home with his other passengers, have fun when they get there :) _

_ yeol: what? _

_ KSoo: :) _

_ yeol: *fear emoji* _

Ten minutes passed and the meaning behind Kyungsoo’s ominous smiley face made itself known in the form of a giggling Jongdae heard from the other end of the hallway. Chanyeol put down his guitar and contemplated sending another message to Kyungsoo, something along the lines of “fuck you,” but he decided not to risk it considering Kyungsoo was already at peak anger because of Sehun and he didn’t want to be caught in the line of fire. Against his better judgement, he decided to open the door and see what was going on.

Junmyeon and Baekhyun were walking up the hall practically dragging a giggly Jongdae, who was pretty far gone and whining about how Baekhyun had been cheating at cards the entire time. Chanyeol was a little shocked to see Baekhyun so sober based on what Kyungsoo had said, but then, Baekhyun was a lightweight and he knew it so he might have held back. A few parties too many must have taught him something the hard way. Chanyeol stepped out into the hall to get a better look at the spectacle.

Chanyeol looked between Junmyeon and Baekhyun with a hundred questions in his eyes. Junmyeon gave Baekhyun an accusatory look, meaning it was probably his fault. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun expectantly. 

“He aced his other recitation a few days ago so I may or may not have pushed it a little,” Baekhyun said, hefting Jongdae up a little higher. “In my defence, he deserved a good time.”

“I’m sorry to bother you Chanyeol,” Junmyeon said. He didn’t really sound all that sorry, especially not after the project mess Chanyeol had “subjected” him to (they had passed with a decent grade, it just wasn’t perfect enough apparently). “Can you help us out here?”

“What is  _ he _ doing here?” Jongdae said, his unfocused eyes looking up at Chanyeol. His hair was even more of a mess than it was earlier and his face was scrunched up but otherwise he looked the same as he had before he left.

Chanyeol sighed, a drunk Jongdae, it seemed, was almost as bad as a sober one. “I live here dumbass. You disturbed me past quiet hours.” Technically it was only 12:50 but he wanted the satisfaction of being right so badly.

“Good. Serves you and your goddamn drums right,” Jongdae hiccupped. He moved towards Chanyeol but Baekhyun drew him back.

“Woah there,” Baekhyun pulled Jongdae back. “He gets kind of mouthy when he’s drunk,” he said. 

“Yeah, no shit, it’s not like today is the first time he’s been like this I’m just not, y’know, in front of him when it happens. He’s always loud so it doesn’t make much difference,” Chanyeol shrugged, but he kept an eye on Jongdae in case he decided to move again. He wasn’t entirely sure what would happen, but he didn’t want to find out.

“I am deeply insulted, I’m nothing but considerate,” Jongdae said before catching Baekhyun off-guard and leaning in towards Chanyeol. He jabbed one finger into Chanyeol’s chest. “I *hiccup* wouldn’t have made that agreement if I didn’t mean it.” Chanyeol had to catch him when he nearly fell into him. He was too warm and smelt of alcohol and a hint of aftershave. This was the closest they’d ever been and it was a little weird. Jongdae seemed to think so too when he realized he was being held up by Chanyeol alone.

“Yeah, yeah.” Chanyeol said awkwardly. Keeping Jongdae upright while he was trying to fight his way out of Chanyeol’s grip. “Go to bed Jongdae, I won’t make any more noise tonight.”

“Good,” he said, hiccupping as Baekhyun took him back from Chanyeol and walked him into his apartment.

Chanyeol rubbed his temples. Junmyeon’s expression softened just a little, “I’m sorry about all of this. He really does get…interesting when he’s drunk.”

“It’s fine, he’s loud and mouthy sober so there’s not much difference. He just talks a lot more chaotically I guess? I’m used to it.” And he  _ was _ used to it, just not when it involved  _ him. _

“I think  _ always _ is a stretch,” Junmyeon frowned, “sure he sometimes raises his voice but he’s a pretty reasonable guy in general. I’m pretty sure it was you that’s making him a little off.”

Chanyeol knew he was right, but he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing. Whenever the topic came to him, things got even more chaotic. This was all pretty clear even through the wall.

“I never asked, how exactly do you know Jongdae,” Chanyeol chose to say instead, changing the subject.

Junmyeon smiled, “We’re both in Music Education.”

Chanyeol smiled, he could see Junmyeon working really hard to get students to listen to him. Working with children himself he knew the feeling and it was kind of nice to have something in common.

His mind then switched to Jongdae and he added, “I really can’t see someone louder and more childish than a child ever going into teaching.”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?” Junmyeon looked at him with genuine concern.

“Who else would I be talking about? He’s been antagonizing me since he moved in and how it’s this huge thing. The whole building has bets on us for who moves out first.”

“I know you’ve been saying these things for a while but that really doesn’t sound like him at all,” Junmyeon said with a shake of his head. “This whole thing doesn’t seem like him. He’s not a mean guy. He has his faults but he’s one of the nicest people I know. I was a little shocked when he reacted like that when he saw you”

“People keep saying that yet here we are. I haven’t done anything different so maybe this is just how he is sometimes.”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you, but he’s one of my best friends. He volunteers all the time, teaches in choir, and whatever else. I’m sure you’ve heard all this from Baek. It’s not all that different from what you do with your guitar lessons. He does well in all his classes and gets along with half the department. You’re the only one with a huge issue.”

Junmyeon made a good point. Chanyeol was the only one he could think of that wasn’t on speaking terms with Jongdae, they’d only had that one nice conversation in the entire time they knew each other. Even Kyungsoo was nice to the guy. Chanyeol had thought about trying to make amends but he was too stubborn at this point in the game. He  _ knew _ he was acting childish but he had no plans to change that. It felt like losing somehow and he wasn’t about to break first.

“It really doesn’t matter what he does, the problem is still there and I don’t have to like him even if he is a good person or whatever. I’m sure he’s heard nice things about me–he better have heard nice things about me–and feels the same.”

Junmyeon gave him a frown, “I doubt it…you really don’t like him do you.”

“No, I don’t and I don’t have to,” he said with finality.

“Well, I really hope you change your mind. Now, I have to go and make sure Yifan got home okay. Baekhyun just showed up randomly at the party and insisted I take both the two of them and Kyungsoo home first.” Junmyeon waved and made his way down to the stairs.

“Chanyeol get your non-existent ass in here!” Baekhyun yelled from within Jongdae’s apartment. The door was wide open and Baekhyun was wrestling Jongdae into bed after having stripped him of his clothes.

“What do you want?” He asked, marching inside.

“Go get some water while I get this fucker into bed.” For some read Chanyeol obliged and grabbed a glass from one of Jongdae’s cupboards and filled it with water from the sink. His kitchen was far better kept than Chanyeol’s, he noted. He quickly passed the water to Baekhyun.

“Jongdae drink this water or so help me god I will–”

“BUT I DON’T WANNA DRINK THE WATER,” Jongdae exclaimed, trying to push both the glass and Baekhyun away.

Baekhyun frowned and grabbed Jongdae’s wrist, “YOU’RE GOING TO DRINK IT IF I SAY YOU WILL.” Chanyeol felt tempted to cover his ears now that both of them were yelling.

“FUCK YOU,” Jongdae shouted before snatching the glass and taking a few long gulps before wiping his mouth. “HAPPY NOW?”

“NO. LIE THE FUCK DOWN.”

“WHY DON’T YOU MAKE ME.” Baekhyun struggled to push Jongdae until he was finally horizontal, all while dodging carefully aimed jabs and the occasional knee.

“I WILL PUNCH YOU IN THE DICK IF YOU DON’T LIE DOWN RIGHT NOW.” By his tone Baekhyun meant it. Jongdae complied and fell back onto his pillow, pouting.

Baekhyun walked up to Chanyeol and asked in a low voice, “Yeol, do you have any aspirin?”

Chanyeol startled, “Yeah, it’s in my medicine cabinet in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.” He sauntered off, holding the wall to keep himself steady. Chanyeol had forgotten Baekhyun was also pretty tipsy, even if he wasn’t outright drunk. Seconds later Baekhyun was hurrying back into Jongdae’s apartment, falling into the wall in his haste. Chanyeol offered him a hand but he shook it off and went over to the bed.

“YO, GET UP,” Jongdae had been dozing off and his eyes snapped open.

“The fuck Baekhyun…”

“Here’s the aspirin,” Baekhyun said, handing it over carefully and making sure Jongdae took it with some water. He was surprisingly good at this. The whole thing was vaguely familiar so Chanyeol assumed something similar had been done for him.

“Mmkay now make him leave,” Jongdae pointed a lazy finger at Chanyeol. Chanyeol was out the door before anyone could say anything more.

As soon as he closed the door to his apartment he heard, “NO GET OFF ME YOU FUCK, YOU’RE SWEATY AND YOU SMELL LIKE BEER. GO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR.”

“DAEEEE IT’S COLD AND YOU’RE WARM AND TOASTY, STOP BEING SELFISH.

“BYUN BAEKHYUN GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY ASS AND GET OUT OF MY BED.”

Chanyeol heard a loud “thunk” as Baekhyun was presumably kicked out of the bed.

“SOME FRIEND YOU ARE, I’M GOING WHERE I’M WANTED.” Baekhyun stomped out of the room. Chanyeol’s heart sank. He knew  _ exactly _ what was about to happen.

There was a series of loud knocks against his door that did not stop until Chanyeol opened it. “NO,” he said as soon as he saw Baekhyun’s face on the other side.

“Please, I can’t go out like this, it’s like 7 degrees outside.” He looked down at his baggy, sleeveless t-shirt and ripped jeans and then pouted at Chanyeol. “I’ll give you whatever you want…I’ll give you secrets, anything just let me in.”

“I don’t want them.”

“What if I gave you Jongdae’s secrets? I’ve known him forever so I know all there is to know.”

“What use would I have for his secrets?”

“I dunno, blackmail. You can save the offer for a rainy day. You know how many secrets I keep Chanyeol.” That he did. Having Baekhyun in his debt was always an ideal situation anyway. Chanyeol opened the door wider and Baekhyun gave him a warm hug. He really did smell like beer.

It was Baekhyun’s turn to be taken care of as Chanyeol forced him under a shower and into a borrowed t-shirt and pair of boxers to get rid of the smell. He produced a glass of water and another pill and pushed Baekhyun into the bed. Chanyeol was such a kind ex-whatever; he was so used to this it felt like second nature. If he was being honest, he really didn’t mind sleeping with Baekhyun even if he was clingy.

“Mmm you’re the bestest,” Baekhyun muttered as he leaned into Chanyeol.

“I know, now go the fuck to sleep.”

Baekhyun opened his eyes a sliver, “You know, we could always…” Chanyeol felt him shift on the bed.

He shoved him aside, “No we cannot, go to sleep you’re drunk.”

“You’re missing out man, was gonn-” Baekhyun was out before he could even finish that sentence. Chanyeol sighed and yanked the covers from where Baekhyun was hoarding them. He fell into an uneasy sleep.

 

–

 

Chanyeol knew he was setting himself up for disaster the minute he’d set the marimba down in his room alongside whatever other instruments he could rent from the percussion department on short notice. He glanced over at a sweaty Jongin whom he’d caught on his way home from dance practice to help out.

“Thanks man,” he said.

Jongin smiled, “No problem. Just…get someone else to help you take all of this back. I don't want to be anywhere near a staircase with that thing ever again.”

There had been a slight mishap where Jongin had slid down a few stairs, the marimba following with before it got caught on the railing. Chanyeol was pretty sure both of their hearts had stopped in that moment. They had to take a full minute to breathe before getting started again.

“Don’t worry, I have enough info to blackmail Sehun into doing it.”

Jongin smiled fleetingly before looking at the wall, “You sure your Jongdae is going to be fine with this? You have half the percussion section in here.”

“He’s definitely not going to be fine with it but all the practice rooms were booked for the next two weeks and I need this practice time before my midterm assessment. This quarter’s songs are hard.”

Jongin shook his head, “Your funeral, not mine. Anyway, bye Chanyeol. Don’t forget to come to my own recital! I promised front row seats!” He pulled on his shoes and smiled at Chanyeol as he opened the door to leave.

“I’ll be there, bye Jongin!” he called after him.

Now alone, Chanyeol looked around at the spread in front of him and then at the pile of sheet music he had to work through. He already had recordings of the pieces in a playlist ready to go so he could play along with them, he just had to pray things would work out with his neighbour. He was well aware he should probably give Jongdae some forewarning about this but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up or deal with potential resistance, so he decided to simply hope he wasn’t home.

He hit play for the first piece. He was in charge of the marimba for this one–the percussion section were required to rotate between each piece so they had a chance to work with everything for whatever reason–and he figured it was mellow enough to test out the waters. It was, at the very least, less abrasive than the drums or the chimes. Or so he hoped.

There was a loud rapping at the wall. “Can you stop that racket!” Jongdae’s voice echoed.

“Can’t, I have rehearsal for orchestra, I need to practice.” He played a little more of the piece for emphasis. He wasn’t fucking around, he was playing real music and the complexity of the piece was evident enough.

“It’s fucking…oh fuck it I’m coming over!” A few seconds later Jongdae was at his door, looking unimpressed.

“Hello dear neighbour.” Chanyeol greeted him with a thin smile.

Jongdae looked around Chanyeol and his eyes went wide, “Is that the entire percussion section I see in your room Chanyeol? Please tell me the entire percussion section is not in your room right now.”

“I mean,” Chanyeol said sheepishly, “it’s not the  _ entire _ section. The timpani drums wouldn’t fit.”

“I don’t believe this. The school has practice rooms for a reason! Why do you insist on practicing here? How did you even get that here!?” He was pointing at the marimba.

“Jongin helped me,” he shrugged.

“Look, there are limits to this agreement. Playing an entire concert worth of songs on an  _ almost _ complete percussion section at top volume for hours does not fall within the agreement. I’m pretty sure the entire floor would agree with me on this point.” Jongdae was breathing heavily and he had a hand pressed to his forehead.

“There’s not much I can do at this point, I can try playing quietly but it’s not going to make much difference on the glockenspiel.”

Jongdae looked at him incredulously. “The kid on the trumpet on my other side isn’t even this bad, how do you do it Park Chanyeol?”

“Listen, I play the pieces as they’re written because I want to get good grades so I can get a good job with this ridiculous music degree,” Chanyeol was consciously looming over Jongdae. He wasn’t being pushed around today. He’d pushed unnecessarily before, projects aside, but he  _ needed _ this.

“I get that you have things you need to do and so do I. I’ll admit to doing a little extra because I can’t help it but you don’t even try,” Jongdae said, eying Chanyeol with disgust. “Has anyone told you you’re impossible?”

“All the time, I’m friends with Do Kyungsoo so your words have little effect. I can always go back to playing Zeppelin and whatever else on my electric guitar so I can impress my students if you want? Because if I’m not doing this I’ll be doing that,” Chanyeol could hear himself getting louder. He was being petty. Jongdae knew he was being petty. He wasn’t going to stop. He was just going to go back and play like he always did before this nonsense.

“Look, I’m not even asking you to be silent, just don’t break the fucking sound barrier,” Jongdae said, crossing his arms.

Chanyeol laughed. He was about to say something he was going to regret but at this point he didn’t care. “You’re so full of shit Jongdae, you know that?” Jongdae only looked at him, blinking. “You see those? Those are the noise-cancelling headphones I bought so I didn’t have to hear you constantly do scales and sing in whatever language accompanied by whatever track  _ you _ have playing. In case you were unaware, your voice is an instrument and it’s louder than most of the ones I have here. You use it outside of school just as much as I play around.”

Jongdae was gaping at him, “Excuse me? I literally just apologized and now you’re just going to go off. I said you could make noise and do your work and you attack me?”

“I’m not finished. Dude I don’t even speak whatever languages you’re trying to sing in but I know your accent is off. We played that piece last year and yeah no, that’s not how it’s supposed to sound.”

Chanyeol was digging a knife in but he knew why Jongdae was upset, Jongdae just didn’t know precisely why he was. He couldn’t stop himself. Something about the apology had set him off. If Jongdae didn’t know the extent to what he was apologizing for and Chanyeol wasn’t going to accept it, even if it meant coming off as a total dick. Jongdae already knew he was one so he had nothing to lose. Maybe now they could reconcile at some point, if Jongdae didn’t hate him until the end of time.

Jongdae’s look was venomous, Chanyeol almost balked. “Thanks for that Chanyeol. Thanks a lot. I have a headache and I’m already stressed enough and now you give me this. What would you even know of singing, your range is tiny and your accent isn’t much better? I was hoping to negotiate later but wow that’s not going to happen,” he looked defeated.

“That’s partially your own fault, you nag and nag. So what if I don’t try?” Chanyeol’s last words rang out in the hall.

This entire conversation was unlike either of them. He was actually prepared to be an asshole and he couldn’t understand why. Was it about losing? Was this finally one time he’s taken it too far? He was prepared for Jongdae to be some immovable force fighting back but that’s not what he got. Instead, he got a gaping pit in the bottom of his stomach. Neither of them spoke.

“I’ll be done in 3 hours,” Chanyeol said, breaking the silence.

“Fine, I’m going to the library.” Jongdae said.

“Fine.” Chanyeol shut the door as Jongdae went away, but not before he saw the damage he’d done in Jongdae’s expression. He looked like he was about to cry with frustration. Chanyeol had hurt him, he realized.

With Jongdae out of the picture, Chanyeol turned on the music and settled behind the marimba. He couldn’t bring himself to focus. He looked half-heartedly at all of the instruments around him and wished he’d left them back in the music building for all the good they did them. He forced his way through all of the pieces and then promptly collapsed on his bed, not wanting to think anymore.

 

–

 

From that day on Jongdae began avoiding Chanyeol. He spent as little time in his apartment as possible, much like they’d been doing at the beginning, and could scarcely be seen within the halls of the music buildings. Even his friends, their mutual friends included, seemed to disappear from in front of him. They either gave him cold looks or ignored him entirely. His friends, or at least the ones who had sided with him did the same to Jongdae. He thought this was all a bit too much, this fight was between the two of them alone and had nothing to do with the rest of them.

Kyungsoo looked at him over his lunch. He’d come all the way over from the culinary school to eat with Chanyeol to keep him company. “You do know this was bound to happen, right?”

“No, it was working fine,” Chanyeol said stubbornly, stabbing a piece of meat that he was having trouble picking up with his chopsticks.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think that. This wasn’t an arrangement that was going to last. Both of you should have realized that and Jongdae probably did. You’re both too competitive for your own good and this whole thing was never going to go away.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth to defend himself but Jongin spoke instead, “Kyungsoo has a point, you were pretty happy about being loud when we brought all of your stuff up. You wanted to be loud just to spite him. I kind of get why he was upset.”

Chanyeol couldn’t even counter that because it was true. He  _ had _ been looking for excuses to be loud, or at the very least louder than normal. He was self-aware enough to know he made a lot of noise without doing it on purpose but he went out of his way to be annoying on top of that. Being told this by unrelated parties hurt.

“You should probably apologize and fix this for real Chanyeol. I really will stop feeding you if you don’t. Jongdae is a nice guy,” Kyungsoo said, delivering a fatal blow.

“I know, I know I will, I just have to figure out how.”

This game of avoidance and whispers was driving him mad. He’d traded off a bunch of favours for practice rooms, played only when he was certain Jongdae was gone, kept things at low volume…anything to avoid setting him off. He didn’t like Jongdae being upset with him, upset to the point where Chanyeol was actually hurting him in some way. He felt the need to fix it.

Jongin gave him a reassuring smile, “You’re a nice guy Yeol, you’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks,” he said, hoping Jongin was right.

Chanyeol’s first opportunity to make things right happened just as he was about to leave the cafeteria. He noticed a miserable, exhausted looking Jongdae going to throw out the wrappers on his food tray. Chanyeol decided there was no time like the present and walked up to him.

“I–” he managed to say before Jongdae whirled on him. His eyes went wide before they went back to looking dead and tired.

“You know Chanyeol, I don’t really want to talk to you right now. I already get enough shit for my my accent in class, I didn’t really want to hear that from my neighbour. I never even gave my thoughts on your pieces or professional playing, I just said when it was too much. Leave me alone.”

“Oh come on, I didn’t mean that I was just mad because of the recital.”

Jongdae kept his unwavering gaze on Chanyeol, “No, you did mean it. You pay enough attention to actually hit where it hurts. What you said was right.”

“Please, I just want to apologize, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” Chanyeol’s pleas sounded pathetic even to his own ears. He absolutely did mean every word.

Jongdae moved to go past him and Chanyeol blocked his way. “Look, I’m still pissed right now. Maybe don’t talk to me for a while longer while I think about things, okay?” Jongdae shoved him aside.

Chanyeol moved without thinking. There was finality to what Jongdae said and the hurt he still felt had flashed on his face as he looked at Chanyeol one last time, shocking Chanyeol once again and keeping him in place. “Okay,” was all he could say to Jongdae’s retreating back. This was not how things were supposed to go, but at the same time he knew things would end like this unless something changed, unless he changed.

 

–

 

Baekhyun looked at him from where he was perched on Chanyeol’s couch. “You know he’s right, right?”

Baekhyun had showed up at his house behind Kyungsoo, uninvited and unwanted. Unfortunately, Kyungsoo didn’t feel the need to kick him out so there wasn’t much Chanyeol could do. Baekhyun was the only person who hadn’t chosen a side and had taken it upon himself to try and broker a peace between them. So far, he was incredibly ineffective.

“Baekhyun has a point, a rare occurrence so you should take it seriously,” Kyungsoo said, scrolling through Spotify to find something to play.

Baekhyun looked affronted but then continued, “I suppose he’s a bit of an ass too but this, whatever it is, is pissing me off more than the yelling and the noise and the whole nonsense around that.”

Chanyeol didn’t feel like pointing out that Baekhyun did not live here nor did he have to be here nearly as much as he was and that all of his opinions were unwanted. Kyungsoo had brought him brownies and better advice so he was to be tolerated.

“What do you expect me to do? I tried apologizing. He said he wasn’t ready to hear it or something,” Chanyeol said from where he was lying on the bed.

“That’s because you jumped on him the next day and expected things to go back to normal just like that,” Kyungsoo said, rolling his eyes. “Jongdae is a nice guy but there are limits.”

“I know that, believe me,” he muttered.

“You really did hurt him Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said looking up, “I’m not kidding this time. I talked to him and he really doesn’t know what to do. He pretty much hates you and hates living next to you but he doesn’t have the time or the cash to move. I suppose this means you “win” or whatever you wanted but he thinks you’re a total dick.”

“I think he’s one too.”

“You don’t really believe that Chanyeol, I can tell,” Kyungsoo said. Chanyeol had a hard time believing he was being teamed up on by Kyungsoo and Baekhyun together. That alone was enough to convince him that yeah, he was in the wrong here.

“I don’t,” Chanyeol said quietly.

“He actually kicked me out for trying to convince him you weren’t so bad. I vouched for you man.”

Kyungsoo looked over at Baekhyun, “He pretty much latched onto me as soon as he was pushed out the door.”

“Thanks, I guess?” Chanyeol scratched his head and increased in speed until he was ruffling his hair, “Aaargh, I know, I know he’s not that bad. I just…don’t know  _ how _ to deal with this.”

“You can try asking for help,” Kyungsoo supplied.

Chanyeol gripped his hair and pulled, he really didn’t know how to convey what he was thinking. “That’s just what Baekhyun tried and failed to do. I’m just frustrated it’s like this in the first place. It was so peaceful before and now it’s just so fucked up. I put a lot into what I do and sure it’s not quiet I just don’t know how to be otherwise. I know he doesn’t either. It just feels like…unstoppable force meets immovable object.”

“Chanyeol you sound like a moron. Jongdae is a person you can talk to, just like Yixing was. He’s just more stubborn and possibly as competitive as you are. We all have the same friends and collectively agree he’s better than Baekhyun, that has to mean something,” Kyungsoo said, earning a scandalized noise from Baekhyun but no further objections.

“I don’t feel like talking to him at this point. He clearly doesn’t feel like talking either so none of this matters until we do talk. If that ever happens.”

“I don’t want to burst your little bubble, but, like I told Jongdae, it’s midterm season and both of you are music majors. You might want to push up this talk or fight to the death for practice rooms like the rest of us. I know you’re out of favours and you already used up the secrets I promised. This is one of the few buildings that even lets you do the shit you do,” Baekhyun had moved to stand above where Chanyeol was lying on his bed.

“Leave me to my misery,” Chanyeol said pulling a pillow onto his face.

Baekhyun pounced on him, poking at his sides, “No, you have to practice. I’m not listening to you miss your cues in orchestra. The piano part isn’t all that complicated and I don’t play the whole time. I can fucking hear you when you mess up.”

Chanyeol was laughing breathlessly and he saw Kyungsoo hiding his laugh behind his hand. “Ok, fine. What do you want me to do? Because I sure as hell don’t know.”

“I’m so glad you asked,” Baekhyun said, beaming.

With Baekhyun on one side and Kyungsoo on the other he found himself being manhandled over to Jongdae’s door. It was far too sudden for any of this. This was  _ Jongdae _ and he was not ready to face him yet. The Jongdae, who had no doubt heard half their conversation anyway. The Jongdae, who had coldly turned him away earlier that week. The Jongdae, who was mean only to him, except he really wasn’t. Jongdae, whose forgiveness he craved.

Kyungsoo made several knocks on the door while Baekhyun giggled. A few beats later the door opened to reveal a disgruntled looking Jongdae in sweats and a long-sleeve t-shirt. He was holding a mug of tea and looked exhausted.

“I almost didn’t open this door but I heard Baekhyun giggling and thought I might see something funny. Turns out it was just your face.”

Chanyeol went red but Kyungsoo clapped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything. Baekhyun snorted. “It was just a joke,” Kyungsoo said in his ear, “remember why you’re here.”

To Jongdae Kyungsoo said, “Jongdae play nice he’s doing his best, you know that.”

Jongdae signed and nodded. Kyungsoo was a man of great and mysterious power. “I thought it might be fun to start off like that, but you make a good point. So Chanyeol, what have you come to say?” Jongdae cocked his head with interest.

“If you know why am I–OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK BAEKHYUN!” Baekhyun had pinched his side.

“Don’t,” Baekhyun said seriously, knowing how Chanyeol was going to go about this.

Chanyeol grumbled then started again, “I came to apologize, you know that already.”

“I do.”

“I mean it this time, I don’t like whatever this is. It was never like this with my previous neighbour and I…I want to try and make things work a little better. For both of us. I just don’t know how. I can try to not do whatever else I do and you can try not singing all the time but we both know that doesn’t work so I’m not sure where to go from here…” Chanyeol took a big shaky breath and looked at his feet. Chanyeol knew he was rambling but he couldn’t seem to do anything else.

Jongdae was considering him carefully, “I thought we already tried doing that. We had that whole agreement.”

Chanyeol laughed, “You and I both know that agreement was made out of pure self-interest, no matter what we did. Neither of us really kept to it in the end.”

“You’re right. I definitely got a lot of satisfaction being able to break it,” Jongdae admitted sheepishly.

“That makes two of us.”

“I guess we’re not so different,” Jongdae gave him a tired smile. Chanyeol felt his spirits lift just a little and returned it

Baekhyun muttered something about “that being pretty fucking evident” and earned a smack from both Jongdae and Chanyeol. They both looked at each other and grinned. Baekhyun looked between them and wore an expression that indicated he regretted several of the decisions that he made today.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m still upset.” Jongdae said after they were done making Baekhyun miserable.

“Same.”

“I’m doing my best just like you, it’s all just getting to my head. You know what I mean?”

Chanyeol nodded, “Yeah.”

“Contrary to popular believe, I don’t want you to fail and I don’t mind a lot of what you do. A lot of it just feels antagonistic or something.”

“It was antagonistic, I kind of wanted to win, if that makes sense?”

“It does,” he agreed.

Kyungsoo was looking between the both of them curiously. It was making Chanyeol a little uncomfortable having his friend analysing them so closely.

“This isn’t a competition so maybe let’s try something else. We won’t stop the curfew rule for sleep purposes but think about it differently maybe? The rules were a good base.” Jongdae looked pretty deep in thought.

“Mmm,” was all Chanyeol said as he tried to think of something himself.

“Communication,” Kyungsoo said from Chanyeol’s left. They all looked at him.

“Oh right, we have each other’s numbers!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “We could just, you know, talk more about who is doing what when. Figure out a schedule or something.”

Baekhyun looked at them, “You honestly haven’t even been talking to each other?”

“No,” they both said.

“We basically interact on a need to know, minimal as possible basis,” Jongdae admitted and Chanyeol confirmed.

“That explains a lot,” Kyungsoo said, kicking Chanyeol in the shin while Baekhyun smacked Jongdae in the arm.

“Ow, it’s not my fault I didn’t want to talk to someone I didn’t like from the start,” Chanyeol hissed.

Jongdae, “Exactly!”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with such total morons who apparently live in the stone age for fucks sake,” Baekhyun groaned.

“Ah yes but you Baekhyun are the biggest idiot,” Jongdae said. “You slept with this guy and not once did you even introduce him to me. I knew what you did but I didn’t know who you were doing it with. I might have even commended him for going through all of that if I’d met him in a different context.”

“Why did you have to go and say that?” Baekhyun groaned.

Chanyeol choked, “You  _ know _ !?”

“I had to tell someone! I was going through a lot!” Baekhyun hurriedly tried to explain.

“It’s not like I wanted to know,” Jongdae muttered, shivering.

Chanyeol looked between them, “Okay fine we can talk about that later.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo said, effectively ending that discussion, “So you two are going to actually talk to each other regularly about this and forgive each other and whatever so I can go back and steal Chanyeol’s Netflix in peace.”

They all nodded and Kyungsoo dragged Chanyeol back to his apartment, leaving the other two to bicker.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol told Kyungsoo quietly.

“This whole thing was a massive headache, I wanted to clear it before my next binge.” Kyungsoo refused to look at him but Chanyeol knew he had a soft expression on his face.

“You know you love me.”

“No comment.”

Chanyeol felt like a huge burden had been taken off his back.

 

**Message: loud asshole**

** _ yeol changed loud asshole’s name to jongdae** _

 

_ jongdae: beat up Baekhyun for you, you can resume later _

_ jongdae: said he apologizes for revealing your secrets…mostly _

_ jongdae: your movie isn’t too loud _

_ jongdae: nice choice btw _

 

_ yeol: thanks _

_ yeol: you can keep singing in the shower _

_ yeol: i do actually like listening _

 

_ jongdae: i don’t know what to say _

_ jongdae: thanks?? _

 

_ yeol: kyungsoo told me that was a weird thing to say _

_ yeol: This is Kyungsoo. He says a lot of weird things sometimes. Please be prepared for that, he means well. He’s just soft. _

_ yeol: sorry for that _

 

_ jongdae: lmao _

_ jongdae: that would explain some of the stories _

 

_ yeol: WHAT STORIES?? _

_ yeol: WHAT DID HE TELL YOU????? _

_ yeol: JONGDAE PLEASE _

 

_ jongdae: :3 _

 

_ yeol: >:^( _

Chanyeol decided he might be able to work with this. Maybe. But perhaps Jongdae had sides he hadn’t seen either. He’d just have to wait and see and also figure out how many embarrassing things he already knew about Chanyeol.

 

–

 

Sehun dragged Chanyeol up the steps into the fraternity house, he had no idea which one because Greek letters were totally lost on him and he hadn’t been paying attention since the vodka shots Baekhyun helpfully poured when they reached Sehun and Jongin’s apartment.

He’d been forced into skinny jeans and a nice button down and then had his hair styled up for the occasion. His sleeves had been carefully rolled “to show his assets.” Sehun was really intent on both getting some and making sure Chanyeol did too, whether he wanted it or not. “You have muscles  _ and _ tattoos Chanyeol, let people see them.”

Half an hour later he was nursing a bottle of some organic beer he found in the fridge on one of the couches. A miserable Kyungsoo, also dragged along by Sehun, was sitting next to him and downing the remainder of his rum and coke. 

“This is the worst,” Kyungsoo muttered leaning into Chanyeol’s shoulder, “I have an exam on Monday I can’t afford to be here.” He must be tipsy if he was being clingy like that.

“We’ll leave as soon as it’s clear Sehun’s gonna be sleeping somewhere else tonight.” Chanyeol said, patting Kyungsoo’s knee. 

“Ugh, we already know he’s going with Han, can’t we just leave now.”

“You make a good point, let’s go,” Chanyeol stood up, the shots from earlier making themselves known as he tried to drag Kyungsoo upright and nearly toppled over. It was a long process but Kyungsoo was finally up and holding very firmly onto Chanyeol’s arm. He wasn’t sure which of them was steadying the other.

“Yoooo Chanyeol! And is that Kyungsoo? Kyungsooo!” Baekhyun, who was in the middle of a large crowd of people, was calling for them. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at the same time Chanyeol sighed in resignation. At a party, there was no escaping Baekhyun once you had his attention.

“What do you want Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo asked wearing his most dour frown. Chanyeol did his best to mimic it as he wobbled slightly.

“Woah chill dude, I just heard the two of you perform a lot together and we have a guitar right here,” Baekhyun explained, holding up a beaten guitar. “We just want you to do one song, please.” His eyes were doing that puppy thing that made it hard to refuse. Kyungsoo’s body language indicated he had every intention of doing so and Chanyeol agreed.

“We’re going home,” Chanyeol said. The aura Kyungsoo was giving off was starting to send chills down his spine and his grip on Chanyeol’s arm was getting painful.

Baekhyun gave an impressive shit-eating grin. “If you don’t do it I’m making this story time. Kyungsoo you’re not exempt, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Remember what happened in first year in the common room? I walked in so innocently and saw something that scarred me for life.”

Chanyeol had never seen Kyungsoo go red so quickly. He looked up and said abruptly, “Get over there and start playing that damn guitar Chanyeol, the faster we do this the sooner we leave.”

_ What the fuck does Baekhyun have on Kyungsoo? _ Chanyeol wondered giving both of them a bewildered expression. He didn’t really care about the details of his adventures with Baekhyun anymore, his feud with Jongdae was much bigger news and that was pretty much out in the open. He owed Kyungsoo a lot so he allowed himself to be dragged into the crowd still a little stunned from the change in pace.

With the attention of everyone in the room, Chanyeol could feel the alcohol churn inside of him and then settle once he had the guitar in his hands, tuning it to his liking. Music sang in his veins like a drug he could never escape and provided a helpful distraction. His fingers still knew what to do despite his lack of coordination which was a small blessing.

Baekhyun already knew what they were capable of and so did anyone who happened to go to the cafe where Kyungsoo and Minseok worked on a Thursday evening. He was smiling with anticipation, corralling as many people to come listen as he could.

He met a pair of eyes from beside Baekhyun. Jongdae was staring at them with great interest. Chanyeol still felt uneasy about their agreement a few days before but he felt eager to prove himself for some reason. Jongdae looked so animated sitting there with a cup in his hands, leaning against Junmyeon who was talking intently with Yifan and laughing at whatever Baekhyun said. He was definitely excited for this at the very least.

He busied himself with the strings, strumming a few chords, testing the sound and warming up. “What do you want us to sing?” Kyungsoo’s looked up at him, his expression still miserable. Chanyeol was very well aware that Kyungsoo’s tastes were paramount here.

“Just do whatever,” Baekhyun said unhelpfully with a loud hiccup. Jongdae pulled him down so he was no longer standing on a chair yelling to anyone who could hear him. The general noise had lowered a bit and the group was starting to look at him expectantly now that they realized something was actually about to happen.

Making a fast decision, Chanyeol looked at Kyungsoo, wallowing in his own misery. “Billionaire?” he whispered. Kyungsoo nodded and Chanyeol tested out the right chords before looking at the crowd. “Tips are very welcome.” He winked at Jongdae, unsure as to why he did so. Probably because he was the only one really looking.

Without further ado, he began playing. It took a few tries but Kyungsoo’s voice circled through the room, a little rough from the alcohol but it didn’t take away from the performance. It was one of their standard numbers, one they’d practiced and performed a lot at the cafe enough that it was like second nature. Here, it worked like a charm. They had the entire room at attention. Chanyeol found himself confident enough to join Kyungsoo so their voices melded together. The alcohol flowing through his system boosted his confidence as they both rode the high through the song, getting more exuberant as they went.

When they were done, the room erupted in applause and loud whooping for an encore. Ignoring all of them, Kyungsoo got up saying he needed the washroom and told Chanyeol to meet him at the door in a few minutes so they could make their escape. Chanyeol was now stuck in the circle alone with a guitar, a dangerous position to be in at a party.

“Play something else,” Baekhyun instructed.

“What do you want me to play? I don’t have a vocalist,” Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a flat look, hoping he was communicating exactly how much he did not want to do this.

Baekhyun shrugged and looked around at the eager audience. “I dunno, anything. Something we can sing to. Sing it yourself if you have to.”

“Oh, that’s real specific, look I have maybe ten minutes so I can’t do much,” Chanyeol said looking at Baekhyun desperately.

Baekhyun thought for a moment, “Just do Creep like you usually do. You’re creepy enough.”

Chanyeol sighed and began the song, crooning the lyrics. He sang softly but in the near silence he knew the crowd could hear. He once again got lost in the song and woke up to another round of applause. Alcohol really was liquid courage. He looked at his watch, he still had time and Baekhyun knew it. An uneasy feeling rose in his gut.

Minseok, who Chanyeol hadn’t even seen until now, said, “Play something for Jongdae to sing, he’s been holding out on us.” Jongdae frowned at Minseok and so did Chanyeol before they looked at each other with understanding that their reluctance was mutual.

“Not a chance,” Jongdae said.

“I have to leave.”

“Nope, excused unaccepted. I won’t bother you for the rest of the week if you get up there, if you do I’m hanging out at your places all week. You both have working keyboards anyway.”

That was a huge sticking point and he could find no reason to refuse and neither could Jongdae given the fact that he was currently whining to Baekhyun. Nonetheless, he’d been listening to Jongdae sing since the beginning of the semester and had maybe not secretly wanted to play for him properly. Now that things had been patched up more or less, this was a good opportunity as any to try and improve things a bit.

“Maroon 5!” Baekhyun shouted happily, looking between the two of them. Chanyeol obediently started playing Sunday Morning, a song Jongdae sang quite often, and recognition mixed with relief shone in Jongdae’s eyes. His face brightened like the sun and he sat up straighter before singing the opening lines.

Jongdae’s voice really was something. This was every bit the experience he thought it would be. Chanyeol didn’t even join in, he just took pleasure in listening and playing along. Hearing it through the walls at random was completely different from appreciating it properly. Just like with Kyungsoo and his smooth voice, he was a little entranced by Jongdae’s crystal clear one that flowed high and low with the song. You couldn’t help but pay attention to his voice. Just as soon as it started it was over and the spell was broken and Jongdae’s loud, annoying laugh dragged him from his thoughts.

Jongdae gave him a relieved. “I’m glad you remembered, I was a little worried there when he put us on the spot.”

“You sing that song all the time, it was hard not to,” Chanyeol said, taking off the guitar. “The chords were pretty easy.”

“Still…it was nice you remembered. Might have been a disaster if you’d done anything different.”

“I liked playing for you, we should do it again.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he couldn’t stop the blush that painted his cheeks.

Jongdae laughed. “I agree, maybe we can do it through the walls.” That startled a laugh out of Chanyeol.

“Secret jam sessions. You could also just come over, it’s not a big deal.” Chanyeol’s impulsive mouth betrayed him yet again. But it was not wrong.

They were interrupted by people pestering them for more. Chanyeol started to protest when a hand grabbed the fabric at the nape of his neck and pulled him up. “I told you ten minutes.” It was Kyungsoo. Chanyeol let himself be dragged from the party, unable to forget the feeling of playing with Jongdae and unable to escape the desire to do it again. Jongdae waved goodbye as they left.

“Flirting? Really Chanyeol you only just made up with him after claiming to hate him.”

“Excuse me? First of all, I never hated him outright it was a territorial thing and second, I wasn’t flirting. Was I flirting when I played with you? No, that would be gross, so it was purely a music thing.” Chanyeol detached himself from Kyungsoo’s grip and walked ahead of him to avoid seeing the expression on Kyungsoo’s face.

“You’re the one who invited him to your room.” Chanyeol clammed up. Kyungsoo said nothing more on the matter and simply fell asleep on Chanyeol’s couch.

 

–

 

Chanyeol was showering after his morning trip to the gym and singing along with some indie band he’d found on Spotify earlier that day. He’d listened to the song enough to get the jist of the lyrics, glad they added the rule about singing in the shower. Singing in the shower was a sacred ritual that should be excused without any conditions.

When the song changed to a Chinese pop song he’d added to his playlist to help with his Chinese class he froze. He was so behind in class he needed to be studying like yesterday. He rushed through the rest of his shower, towel dried, threw on some boxers, sweats, and a t-shirt and hopped into his desk chair. He pulled out his mess of notes and his battered second-hand text book and stared at the pages, trying to absorb the contents via osmosis. The class schedule told him they had a quiz tomorrow.

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes and tried to keep his hair from dripping onto the page. In theory, he should know what the characters should mean and the correct intonation of each one, unfortunately reality was much different. If he didn’t suddenly become good at speaking Chinese he could kiss his grade goodbye. He had an oral exam next week on top of the quiz and he not only needed to know what to say, he had to figure out how to say it.

He was about to give in for the night when he was struck by sudden inspiration. Putting on his slippers he walked up the hall to Jongdae’s door and gave it a few hesitant taps. It had been unusually quiet so Chanyeol wasn’t even sure he’d be home but this was his last hope since it was too late to call in any other favours.

Jongdae opened the door looking exactly as distressed as Chanyeol felt, with mussed up hair and bags under his eyes. “What?” he said looking at Chanyeol like he was the last person he wanted to see. Chanyeol figured he’d look like that to any person knocking at his door while in this state though.

“You sing in Chinese, right?” Chanyeol said quickly.

Jongdae looked puzzled, “I mean sometimes I guess? Why?”

“I need you to help me with my Chinese oral exam, please I’m desperate,” Chanyeol gave him his most earnest smile.

Jongdae rubbed his face and looked up. “Chanyeol, we’re in the same fucking class you should know I can’t speak Chinese for shit.”

“We are?” he blinked.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a bit of an airhead?” Jongdae said. He opened the door a little wider so they could talk more easily.

“Yes, but that’s not the point.  _ Listen _ if you can sing it you can say it, right? I just need help with the intonation at the very least. Please? I’m desperate. We could even study for the quiz together.” He really would do anything not to fail this class, studying on time aside.

Jongdae gave him a strange look while taking in Chanyeol more carefully. “First of all, I just memorize how it’s supposed to sound when I sing it to be honest. I guess you can try doing that but I’ve never tried to do it while thinking about what I’m saying. Second, did you seriously just ask me to study with you.”

“Yeah sure why not. I don’t know about you but personally, I think you’re annoying and loud but it’s not like I actually hate you. I also don’t want to fail.” Chanyeol shrugged.

Jongdae signed, but he didn’t look unhappy. “Ok fine, we’ll study together.” He then said in a smaller voice, “I don’t really hate you either, just so we’re clear.”

Chanyeol felt lighter after he heard that for some reason. “Should we do this in my room or yours?”

“Definitely mine, yours is a disaster zone,” Jongdae wrinkled his nose with distaste. From what Chanyeol had seen of Jongdae’s room he had a fair point.

When he reached Jongdae’s room a minute later they got to work immediately. It was incredibly awkward at first. Neither of them knew what to say or do so they just sat and stared at the textbook until Chanyeol caved and started asking questions to break the ice. It worked and they spent another few hours arguing over Chinese verbs and vocabulary, neither knowing what they were doing. Somehow, they bashed their way through the material. Once things had thawed, started laughing at each other’s terrible Chinese until they were doing it on purpose and had to stop because it was getting them nowhere. It was kind of fun though and he had one more thing in common with his neighbour.

They nearly failed their quiz but Chanyeol felt a lot more comfortable around Jongdae so he considered it a win even if they’d probably need an actual tutor for their oral exam, preferably one that wasn’t Han. Chanyeol still missed Yixing, who would have been the perfect tutor, but he was slowly moving past that. They had a few seniors who might help anyway. They might be able to convince Yifan somehow for next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for my group of chanchen enthusiasts in these desperate times. Thankfully Exo's Ladder fed us well atm.
> 
> I'm sorry about my abuse of long text conversations, they're fun to write and make sense realistically with characters in different locations and cell phones being a thing. The text-specific vernacular also conveys a lot.
> 
> ** My Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** Writing Twitter [carpedaem](https://twitter.com/carpedaem)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


	3. Chapter 3

**** “This piece is really good Chanyeol. I mean it, you really have something special here. I don’t think it’s appeared in the system yet, but I gave you top marks.” His composition professor was looking at him with such pride Chanyeol could feel his cheeks heating up in response.

When Chanyeol had received an email from his professor requesting a personal meeting rather than an online grade for his assignment he didn’t know what to expect. He was caught between accidental plagiarism and some sort of digital error because it couldn’t possibly be anything else, not with the amount of coffee he’d consumed to make much needed last-minute changes night before it was due. At some point, he’d given up and sent it in without listening to the final version.

Chanyeol couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. This was not one of the simulated scenarios he’d come up with and he was running on only enough sleep to barely be functional. The only thing he could manage to say was, “Thank you ma’am.”

She clapped her hands together and beamed up at him. “I want you to perform it at this year’s final showcase! I know you make all of the sounds yourself and use your own vocals, so I’m sure performing it acoustically won’t be too difficult. I think it would make a great addition to the night’s performance, a wonderful change of pace from the usual trappings. We’ve had too many renditions of Paganini’s caprices over the years and it’s getting a little dull.”

The way his professor–his esteemed and well-known professor–was looking at him so expectantly made him uneasy. He wanted nothing more than to refuse performing a piece he wrote himself while all alone on a stage where people had just performed pieces they’d spent the entire year rehearsing. It was overwhelming and he didn’t feel deserving of the honour, especially since he’d received so little recognition before now.

At the same time, he didn’t want to refuse; Dr. Ahn had been so kind to him and it could be a big break for him with all of the industry people that would be watching. He knew he was about to be dragged along by her buoyant mood but there was no stopping it; her joy was infectious and he felt a little reckless in his tired state. He made a decision.

“I’m not sure my vocals are up to the task,” Chanyeol admitted, “but I can play it.”

He wanted to do it, but he definitely wasn’t doing it alone, that was out of the question. He was in the orchestra so he was fine playing along or even singing back-up like he did with Kyungsoo, he just needed a vocalist better than himself with an audience like that. Besides, he  _ wrote _ the song, having someone else sing it was usually how these things worked anyway.

His professor tapped her lips in thought, “I do like your version but I suppose that’s fine if you’re against it. Is there anyone you know who might be able to sing for you? They’d have to be approved of course, but I really want to make this work.”

“I might have someone in mind,” Chanyeol said immediately, hoping he could rope Kyungsoo into doing this with him.

His professor beamed, “Oh good, just send me a demo of them singing what you have here and we can get this thing rolling. The only other thing you might want to consider is fixing the lyrics so they match the tone of the song a little more.”

“They were meant to be temporary in the first place, don’t worry I plan to rewrite them completely. I’ll do my best to ‘make this work’ Professor.” He shifted from one foot to the other in discomfort, it was getting difficult to keep standing there while dizzy from so little sleep. He needed to rest so he could sort all of this out in his head and hopefully do something about the massive amount of pressure he was beginning to feel.

Picking up his backpack, he nodded towards Dr. Ahn and made his way to the door.

“Oh,” she exclaimed as he opened it to leave, “I forgot to mention, if you choose someone in the music department I might be able to give them extra credit for this, just as an incentive. You’re also getting bonus credit of course.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with another smile. The person he was considering definitely wasn’t in music but he decided she could wait until later to hear that. In the meantime, he had a vocalist to convince.

 

–

 

“No,” was Kyungsoo’s immediate response.

Chanyeol knew it would be like pulling teeth trying to get Kyungsoo to do this. He knew Kyungsoo didn’t hate performing but he also didn’t have to do this if he didn’t want to and apparently, he didn’t.

“Come on, please,” Chanyeol begged, “I will be your slave forever if you do this one thing. It’s really important to me and my grade and my future in the music industry.” They were in a corner of the library, just hidden enough that they could talk without getting in trouble.

Kyungsoo sighed but his shoulders were still set in defiance and his gaze behind his glasses unwavering. “I can’t Chanyeol, I’m sorry. Even if the concert is next semester, it’s late in this one and I have to come up with an entire three course menu for our end of the semester assignment. Do you have any idea how many hours I have to spend in the kitchen perfecting my dishes if I want to get hired at a decent restaurant later on? Or even start my own? It’s pretty much the same amount of time you spend composing songs.”

“Is there  _ anything _ I say that might convince you?” Chanyeol said, his voice dripping with desperation. He could feel himself pouting, despite knowing this was a lost cause.

“I’m fine with open mic nights at the cafe but this is different. You’re going to need to practice over and over, record all of this, rehearse, write lyrics…I don’t have the time.”

“I know, I just don’t know who else to ask.” He looked up at Kyungsoo from where his head was now lying on the table, cushioned by his arms.

“You have other friends who can sing you know. Baekhyun is quite good if you can somehow convince him and Jongdae, who lives next door, is literally in the vocal department. Junmyeon might even be willing to lend you a hand if you apologize from the last time you worked together.”

Kyungsoo’s meant well, Chanyeol knew that, but he was still upset. Kyungsoo was the only one he really clicked with when it came to this sort of thing, especially considering his other options. There was absolutely no way he was going alone so he’d have to settle. The fact that his top choice at the moment was Baekhyun was a bit much, but they worked…okay together and he did sound great. Chanyeol would just have to drag him from his own busy schedule. Imagining all the effort had him exhausted already.

Chanyeol propped his head up with his hands. “You really think I could convince any of them to help?”

“It’s worth a shot, they’re your best bet when it comes to skill and familiarity. If you mention that extra credit thing they might be more willing to give in since they’re all in the same department as you.” Chanyeol had momentarily forgotten that Dr. Ahn had added that detail, it was a great tool to entice someone.

Chanyeol huffed, blowing up at his hair. “Ok I’ll try. My only other option is asking Soojung to ask her friend Sunyoung to do it and I’d rather have a male voice for this song.”

“There are other people too, you could hold an audition.”

“Yeah but I’m lazy. I kind of know her, and I know she’s doing vocals and dance. I know the other three too. I don’t want to work with some random stranger Kyungsoo.” He was pouting again.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Just ask them sooner than later, because doing it last minute like you usually do isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“I know,” Chanyeol mumbled, letting his arms fall down onto the table. He glanced at his watch. “You better go for your shift, it’s starting soon.”

“Just remember what I said. Jongdae literally lives next door, you could ask him  _ right now _ and find out.” He then stalked out of the room and left Chanyeol to his thoughts. His piles of music theory and Chinese homework sat before him unfinished as he thought hard about what to do.

Unable to get any work done he left the library and went home. He spread out all of his books on his desk and was still left staring at them blankly. He decided he had too many thoughts for any real work, so he pulled out his electric guitar and went all out with whatever mind-numbing rock songs he could remember. Of course, all out now meant he didn’t have it plugged into an amp but he played as if it was. He didn’t really need the noise anyway, he just needed the distraction.

Someone–someone meaning Jongdae–started singing along with Don’t Fear the Reaper after shouting that it needed more cowbell when Chanyeol started playing it just for fun. This was the first time Jongdae had actually sang along with his playing, or at least the first time he had done it when they were both sober and not being whooped at. It was also the first time Chanyeol had actually paid attention to the connection between Jongdae’s voice and his instrument. From song to song they kept going, with Chanyeol becoming increasingly impressed by Jongdae’s skills and his knowledge of rock songs considering how many ballads he sang. Even with the wall as a filter, Jongdae was good. Really good. He was as good as everyone said. Chanyeol was, of course, already aware of this, he had just stubbornly refused to acknowledge it. He could sing pretty much anything Chanyeol threw at him, even while singing lazily.

Chanyeol sighed and put down his guitar. Jongdae really was the best option, there were no questions about it. Between the party and just now, he could tell they could make it work together musically, maybe not as well as he could with Kyungsoo, but definitely more than good enough for the showcase. He was willing to give it a shot. The issue was whether or not he could make it work on both personal and professional levels after only having just made up.

Chanyeol stood and adjusted his flannel shirt. He fixed his hair a little in the mirror by his door before he padded over to Jongdae’s apartment. He wasn’t going to allow any second thoughts before he went through with this.

The door opened after only two knocks. “Yo,” Jongdae said by means of greeting. His hair was ruffled and he was wearing a giant hoodie. Chanyeol wished he looked as comfortable as Jongdae looked when his nerves finally took over.

“Yo,” Chanyeol said hesitantly.

“You weren’t making too much noise if that’s what you were wondering,” Jongdae told him brightly. “I liked singing along, just uh send a text or something if you think it’s too much.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. I mean, I definitely will, but that’s not why I’m here. You weren’t annoying at all.” Nothing Chanyeol said just now had come out in the right order.

Jongdae looked at him, puzzled. “Okaaaay, so why are you here?”

“Listen, you’re the best vocalist in uh the school and um yeah.” Chanyeol was off to a great start. He forced himself to not look at the floor and started picking at his sleeves instead.

Jongdae rubbed the back of his head and leaned against the door frame, “Uh thanks, I’m really not but I’m flattered you think so. Why bring it up?”

“I, uh, need a favour,” he blurted out. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Jongdae properly while he waited for an answer. He was twisting his hands together and staring into Jongdae’s apartment. He could think of a hundred other things he’d rather be doing and a hundred possible responses Jongdae could give him that would either make or break this. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to hear any of them.

“And that favour is?” Chanyeol glanced up to see Jongdae eying him warily.

Chanyeol realized he hadn’t even asked yet and felt his face heat up. He explained the situation with his professor and the song he’d composed, even going so far as to play a short section of the instrumentals on his phone; he decided not to play the version with his vocals on it out of embarrassment. He rambled on about the piece and why he’d written it and how it needed new lyrics as well.

All throughout his explanation Jongdae did not say a word, he simply listened to whatever Chanyeol was saying carefully. It could have been Chanyeol was talking too fast for Jongdae to get in a word edgewise but in-between staring at literally anything other than Jongdae he saw interest in his eyes. He might have just been imagining things but he figured thinking positively might help him get through this.

“It just really needs a great vocalist, I want to do it justice,” he finished, slightly out of breath.

“That actually seems pretty interesting, I do like writing lyrics and it  _ seems _ like a good opportunity. I have a lot of homework though, so I’m not entirely sure if I can justify putting the time in.” Jongdae shifted so that he was no longer leaning on the doorframe and looked up at Chanyeol. “What’s in it for me if I help you?”

“I dunno, what do you want?” Chanyeol asked, a little surprised he wasn’t shot down immediately. “I’d do pretty much anything at this point, I’m stretched a little thin and I’d rather not ask Baekhyun. He’s busy too and things are a little too weird still for one on one stuff.” The look on Jongdae’s face indicated that he understood completely.

“I want food,” Jongdae said with great certainty. Food was basically currency for broke college students and Chanyeol thought it a completely respectable answer. Then Chanyeol recalled how fast Jongdae had inhaled his large lunches every day at the cafeteria, even going so far as to ask for more.

“Dude, I can’t afford to feed you, you eat like a vacuum. Teaching seven-year-olds how to play guitar does not pay that well.”

“Sexual favours then~” He actually wiggled his eyebrows as he said that, completely straight faced.

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes, considering. “Gross, but fine I’ll do it.”

“Seriously,” Jongdae looked incredulous, “I was kidding.”

“So was I,” Chanyeol said, a little relieved but also a little weirded out by how quickly he said he was down for that. “Please, I’m super desperate.

“Food it is then, unless you change your mind and want to ask someone else.”

It finally struck Chanyeol that there was something he was missing, something he forgot to mention. He pounded his fist into his palm, “I forgot, the prof also said it’d help for your own records as well. Something about extra credits within the department. The hours and final grades will have counted on your records towards your degree, doesn’t matter what it is. The song itself got a perfect grade, which I think is part of the whole assignment. She sent me an email earlier explaining it. Would that work for you?”

Jongdae’s eyes widened, “Oh, why the fuck didn’t you say that in the first place. Of course, I’ll do it. This is much better than memorizing Italian opera for extra credit.” He shuddered at the thought.

“Then it’s settled. You and I are going to be working together for a while. You good with that?”

“Anything for the grade,” Jongdae said with a smile, holding out his hand.

“Anything for the grade,” Chanyeol concurred, taking Jongdae’s hand for a firm handshake. He tried to put up a confident front but he still felt apprehensive about this. They had just fixed things and this was all going a little too fast, considering it took them two months to get on speaking terms. He wondered if Jongdae was really on board with this or if it would work out at all, not that he had much choice than to accept it. Chanyeol dreaded the day Baekhyun–or any of their other friends for that matter–found out, it would only make things harder.

 

–

 

Jongdae was seated on Chanyeol’s couch, legs crossed. He was glancing around the room with curiosity. His eyes lingered on Chanyeol’s record collection and the assortment of instruments arranged in one corner. Chanyeol felt weirdly self-conscious having him here alone, without the barrier of the wall between them.

“How the hell did you fit all of this in here?” he asked, looking over to where Chanyeol was sitting hunched at his desk, staring at sound files and making tiny adjustments that no one would probably notice but him.

“Careful planning and resignation to the fact that my toes will permanently be bruised from tripping over everything,” he replied absently.

Jongdae laughed, “That would explain the cursing. I’m surprised you’ve never tripped over the drum kit.”

“Believe me, I have. Be glad you weren’t home when it happened. I nearly put a fist through the bass drums and the high hats went spinning into the bathroom. The noise was deafening.” Chanyeol shuddered at the memory and Jongdae laughed even harder.

Chanyeol coughed, “That’s not why we’re here though. I’m going to play you the full version of the demo, the one I, uh, sang. We’re going to have to rewrite the lyrics, it was part of my agreement with Dr. Ahn, but it should give you an idea of what they’re looking for.”

Asking explicitly for his appraisal was more nerve wracking than experimenting as he pleased, back when he didn’t care what Jongdae thought. He did recognize him seriously as a musician and he knew Jongdae recognized him as one too. Now that they were in a serious situation, everything said had more gravity, for better or worse.

Not allowing himself any further ruminating, he pressed play and watched Jongdae’s face anxiously. Jongdae closed his eyes, tapping his fingers along with the beat. It was a mid-tempo song with a lot of potential directions it could be taken vocally. He’d done what he could to make it fuller, more interesting. He could practically see the cogs working in Jongdae’s brain as he listened to Chanyeol’s husky voice sing about luck and love–the same song he’d been working on when he was disturbed a while ago.

“It’s good!” Jongdae said when it was over. He opened his eyes to smile at Chanyeol. “Really good actually, I get why she was so excited. I’m not exactly surprised though, I hear your tracks daily.”

Chanyeol’s cheeks heated up at the direct praise, “Thanks.”

“I don’t know why you won’t sing it yourself though, it goes well with your voice. I would almost say it was meant for it,” Chanyeol couldn’t tell if Jongdae was just being nice or if he really meant that. Either way, he didn’t know how to react.

“I don’t sing,” Chanyeol said with finality.

“Of course you do, you’ve been doing that the entire time. You sing and rap all of your demos and I’ve heard about the sessions you and Kyungsoo do at that cafe off campus. Minseok keeps trying to drag me along after classes whenever he’s working that shift.” It felt like Jongdae was looking right through him, demanding explanations Chanyeol was reluctant to give.

Chanyeol groaned, “How do you even know half of this stuff?”

“You live on the other side of my wall and I literally heard you sing with Kyungsoo at that frat party. Everyone was pretty impressed, they wouldn’t shut up after you’d left actually. I wouldn’t even shut up, I was pretty shocked.”

Chanyeol started fiddling with the music files again. “Right…well, that’s all for fun, something I enjoy on the side. This is entirely different.”

“Different how?” Jongdae’s brow furrowed, “It’s your song, you should be the one to sing it.”

“No.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes, “Okay, so why did you come to me? We both know I’m not exactly your first choice when it comes to anything except maybe roasting Baekhyun, and even then, that’s debatable. Why not Kyungsoo?”

“He said something about having to create menus for class and how much cooking would be involved. It was a little selfish really, my songs could make him famous,” Chanyeol said with mock disgust.

“Selfish indeed.” Jongdae said flatly. “Did he mention sharing any of his failed creations per chance?”

“Kim Jongdae I like the way you think. He did not and I’m using that to guilt him and then using  _ that _ to bribe you.”

Jongdae gave him a wolfish grin. “I’m a very sensible person, and food is a god we all must bow to.” Food was another universal language they both understood.

“Back to the matter at hand,” Jongdae said pointing at the file on Chanyeol’s screen. Chanyeol had hoped they’d be side-tracked for a little longer. Looking closer, he could see Jongdae’s eyes were sparkling. “Why don’t we try a duet? It might sound really good. Your voice already matches the tone of the song and it would be a shame to remove it entirely. We could just…complement each other or something. Harmonize.”

“I am  _ not _ doing a duet,” Chanyeol said with horror. There was no way he would be caught dead singing with Jongdae’s perfect voice in any sort of professional environment. He had the confidence to sing background vocals with Kyungsoo at the cafe. He did not have the confidence to sing a song he wrote with someone talented enough to already have a solo in the show on top of this.

“Oh yes you are, I’m adding that as one of our conditions. It would sound amazing.”

Jongdae watched Chanyeol as he got up from his desk and fell back on his bed with a groan. “Please understand, my voice is nowhere near the same level yours is,” Chanyeol turned on his side and gave Jongdae his best pout to little effect. He knew how frustrated Jongdae got after performances, working hard to improve, he just wanted a little sympathy.

“I know you’re aware that I’m a vocal student at this school and let me tell you that you’re selling yourself short. It’ll be an interesting track i _ f we work together _ .” There was utter sincerity in his voice. He really wanted to do this.

“When you put it that way I guess it sounds fine, but we’ll have to do a lot of work to polish it,” Chanyeol said with great reluctance. He fell onto his back and wrapped his arms around his head.

“Of course, but we have a lot of time,” Jongdae said brightly.

“Fuck…ok fine,” Chanyeol unfurled his arms dramatically, “but if it’s shit we’re going back to plan A and you sing it alone. You’ll get the credit either way.” He stared over at the file open on his computer, wondering if this really was the right decision to make.

“It’ll be fine, stop worrying. Now you said we were rewriting the lyrics together right?”

Chanyeol frowned, “The lyrics? Oh yeah, we are. You were in that lyric writing seminar last year too, right? Remember when we had to peer review someone else’s lyrics? The ones I was given were amazing, awesome even, and I didn’t know they were  _ yours _ until I was looking through my notes for inspiration. You’re pretty good.” This was one perk he hadn’t thought of until now, it made him feel a little more confident.

Jongdae looked taken aback, “Um, thanks. No one’s ever really said that before, my lyrics can be a little…interesting.”

“Can’t imagine why, I like your style. It worked well for the song we were supposed to be writing for and I gave you a good mark in my review,” Chanyeol flashed him an earnest smile and Jongdae blushed a little.

“Thanks, I guess. It’s nice to know who raised my mark so high.”

Chanyeol sat up and pretended to tip his hat, “‘T’was my pleasure.”

“Alright then, when do we get started?”

Chanyeol felt anticipation growing in his chest. He was feeling a lot more excited about this project than he had been when the professor had suggested it. Jongdae…well he was a lot more agreeable than Chanyeol had thought. From the Chinese lessons to this, he’d been completely reasonable. He was actually pretty fun if he truly had to admit it, even with a few snags here and there. He had to force himself to stop grinning as he pulled out some paper and pens to start brainstorming.

After Jongdae had said his goodbyes three hours later, taking with him the little that remained of the 3 pizzas they ordered in the midst of working, Chanyeol pulled out his phone and opened his messages with Kyungsoo.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

_ yeol: help me _

 

_ KSoo: …is typing _

_ KSoo: Can you be a bit more specific? _

_ KSoo: And hurry because my hands are about to be coated with flour. I have to finish something. _

 

_ yeol: so I asked jongdae to sing with me _

_ yeol: you know, for that school thing _

_ yeol: for some reason he said he’d do it _

 

_ KSoo: Congrats! _

_ KSoo: I figured he’d agree but I’m glad it worked out. _

 

_ yeol: it did not work out!! _

_ yeol: he’s making me sing it with him!! _

_ yeol: no arguments allowed!! _

 

_ KSoo: Sounds fun. _

_ KSoo: I’ve decided I like Jongdae even more. _

_ KSoo: Someone has to get you out of your little shell and remind you you have talent. _

_ KSoo: You sure as hell don’t listen to me. _

 

_ yeol: betrayed by my own friend _

 

_ KSoo: You have one of the best singers on campus working with you on a project that could literally make your academic career- _

_ KSoo: And you are COMPLAINING. _

_ KSoo: All you have to do is sing a bit, it won’t even affect your grade for the actual song track. _

 

_ yeol: when you put it that way it’s kind of… _

_ yeol: ok fine it’s not that bad _

_ yeol: it’s a lot to process, it’s pretty big _

 

_ KSoo: I know, and I’m here for you. _

_ KSoo: *with conditions _

 

_ yeol: then why didn’t you do it _

 

_ KSoo: I literally can’t, I told you. _

 

_ yeol: yeah yeah _

_ yeol: oh he also wants food from you _

_ yeol: i promised I’d ask _

_ yeol: i figured i might as well _

 

_ KSoo: He…and you I suppose, are welcome to my (still amazing) failures. _

 

_ yeol: seriously?? _

_ yeol: this is what it takes?? _

_ yeol: you NEVER share your mistakes _

 

_ KSoo: It’s the least I can do for someone doing both you and I a big favour. _

_ yeol: I’m whining to you every time things go wrong now _

 

_ KSoo: And I will have Baekhyun divulge secrets every time you do. _

_ KSoo: :) _

_ KSoo: I’m kidding I don’t want to know that shit. He’s just good at getting under your skin, which is what I need. _

 

_ yeol: when the fuck did you two get so close? _

 

_ KSoo: When our friends started acting like whiny babies about each other and we had to intervene. _

_ KSoo: You have no idea how annoying you both were. _

_ KSoo: We complained for hours together at some party you didn’t come to like the traitor you are. _

 

_ yeol: But Baekhyun?? Of all people?? _

 

_ KSoo: He’s not so bad. _

_ KSoo: Annoying but I’m friends with you after all. _

_ KSoo: It’s just you and Jongdae he’s weird with. _

 

_ yeol: i don’t know what to say to that _

 

_ KSoo: Because it’s true _

_ KSoo: I have some poached eggs for you both tomorrow. _

 

_ yeol: you are a god _

 

_ KSoo: I know. Now go the fuck to sleep it’s 2am. _

 

_ yeol: Night Soo~ _

 

Chanyeol thought for a moment before sending another message. He scrolled down until he found the name he’d been looking for. He hesitated before opening it but he did promise he’d communicate, why not start with the small things.

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

_ yeol: kyungsoo says he has some poached eggs for us tomorrow _

 

_ jongdae: ncie, m sleepngi _

 

_ yeol: ah sorry, night! _

 

_ jongdae: night *zZZ* _

 

–

 

Bright and early the next morning Chanyeol got ready for his routine run around campus and subsequent trip to the gym. The year before, because he spent so much time stuck in a chair eating ramyeon, he made the wise decision to get out and stay fit or he’d never leave his house. Usually he ran with Sehun after meeting up on the quad before heading over to the gym and attempting to out bench each other. It was a nice routine even if it forced him to be awake and functioning before noon.

“Yo!” Sehun called, his breath ghosting out in the cold November air. He was wrapped up in several layers, a scarf tied around his throat.

Chanyeol nodded in greeting. He’d lost all feeling in his ears because he’d forgotten his toque at home and looked at Sehun’s bright hat a little resentful. “You ready for today?”

“No,” Sehun said bluntly. “Can’t we just run at the gym? In the warmth? That’s what the treadmills are for.”

“I’m all down for that but it won’t be long before we can’t run outside at all.”

Sehun gave him a long, flat look. “Seriously Yeol.”

Chanyeol’s teeth picked a great time to start chattering. “Ok fine, we’re going to the gym.”

“Exactly,” Sehun said, pleased with himself. He took the lead as they walked.

“Oh yeah!” Sehun turned around abruptly, “I heard you’re working together with Jongdae now for some “thing”. When did that happen?”

“How do you even know that, it happened literally yesterday?” Chanyeol said, bewildered.

“Heard it somewhere and figured I’d fact check. Two mortal enemies having to work together? This is hot tea, I need to know if it’s legit,” He looked at Chanyeol expectantly, he even started walking backwards to maintain eye contact.

“What am I supposed to say? We worked things out with our apartments and I needed someone who could sing for a project my prof wants to turn into this big performance thing. Jongdae lives next to me and Kyungsoo couldn’t do it. That’s it.”

“Oh ho? You sure that’s it?” Sehun asked, eyebrows raised.

Chanyeol knew what he was getting at and he wasn’t going to play that game. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it. Before anything else, he’s still loud and annoying. I just need this project done and he’s the best option I have.”

“Ok fine. Keep your secrets about your handsome neighbour whom you get to work with alone for long hours.”

“Sehun I swear to god I will drop every weight I lift onto you somehow and I will do it out of sight.”

“Your threats don’t scare me.”

“I’m serious, I lift more than you do. We’re  _ just working _ it’s not a big deal _. _ ”

“So, you don’t think he’s good looking? Or that he has a cute ass? Or…well you get the point. You see him a lot, Yeol, and you’ll be seeing him even more.”

A hundred repressed images flooded into his mind unbidden. He did  _ not _ think about Jongdae in that context. “I’m bi and I have  _ eyes _ Sehun, I know he’s good looking, it just doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Sehun only smirked in response. Chanyeol wondered if Sehun wasn’t the only one thinking like this and groaned internally. He didn’t want anyone getting any ideas. He might have a history but Jongdae was not going to be the next part in it. He was working hard on fixing things with Jongdae so they could act like normal humans to each other, he didn’t need any complications.

Then he had an idea. “Sehun, whatever happened to your  _ study friend _ ?”

Sehun blushed, “I thought I told you we were going back to normal hours.”

“Did things not work out?” Chanyeol asked, he took the playful tone out of his voice.

“It’s not really your business, but we had a different sort of agreement.”

“Ahhh.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not what you’re thinking but I’m going after someone different. I’m not telling you because I don’t want to scare them off.” He was being unusually candid. He cared a lot about this person.

“Well, I hope things work out for you and…whoever,” Chanyeol said cheerfully, “But know that if you  _ do _ continue to imply things about me and my neighbour I still won’t hesitate to drop those weights. Maybe Junmyeon will nurse it better for you if he doesn’t find out, he’s decided to come around now as well. Come on, let’s go.”

Sehun followed with a curious expression on his face.

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

_ yeol: yo i booked off a solid chunk of time to record in one of the studios on campus _

 

_ jongdae: that was fast _

 

_ yeol: they get booked p quickly, i was lucky to get a good slot _

 

_ jongdae: when did you book it for? _

_ jongdae: and for how long? _

 

_ yeol: 12h this sunday _

 

_ jongdae: 12 HOURS WHAT THE FUCK CHANYEOL!!!!!1 _

 

_ yeol: how often are you happy with what you sing on the first try? _

 

_ jongdae: …never _

 

_ yeol: exactly my point _

_ yeol: i can’t do it either we’re gonna need time _

_ yeol: a lot of time _

 

_ jongdae: that’s still long all at once _

 

_ yeol: i don’t have time to go to the studio over and over for small fixes, better do it all at once _

 

_ jongdae: point _

 

_ yeol: im just smart like that _

 

_ jongdae: lmao _

 

_ yeol: first of all fuck you im a genius _

_ yeol: second, we’ll also be making adjustments to the song and lyrics so it won’t just be singing _

_ yeol: it’ll all sound better in a studio which is what i need _

_ yeol: i booked off next sunday too _

 

_ jongdae: my social life will be in ruins _

 

_ yeol: since when does anyone have a social life on sunday _

_ yeol: also baekhyun does not count as a social life, he’s a parasite who wastes time _

 

_ jongdae: by social life i meant sleep and homework so i can have one, Sunday is homework day _

_ jongdae: i DID have actual plans though _

_ jongdae: not with baekhyun* _

_ jongdae: I do have friends other than him _

_ jongdae: Minseok and Han were gonna take me shopping because they find my wardrobe “lacking” _

 

_ yeol: that’s just code for Han bringing sehun and ditching you two _

_ yeol: then you and minseok go back and chill or get high or whatever _

_ yeol: in essence, you are free _

 

_ Jongdae: that’s not…oh whatever  _

 

_ yeol: see you sunday at noon!! _

 

_ jongdae: oh fuck off _

 

_ yeol: hey i need to sleep too _

_ yeol: you can do homework there in between shit, you can even practice in one of the recording studios, there’s 2 in the unit i got _

 

_ jongdae: fine _

 

–

 

Chanyeol was sitting at his usual table in the cafeteria at 10 a.m. the next day, happy to finally have the recording sessions planned so that they were ready to go. Now all they needed were actual lyrics to the song. They could probably have them written by Sunday. Probably. He looked at the sound file on his laptop, it was only about three and a half minutes and they didn’t even need to sing the entire time. It would be fine.

Not five minutes later, Chanyeol was hunched over the table, scribbling nonsense words onto a blank piece of scrap paper. He knew what lyrics he had in mind for the song, technically speaking it already  _ had _ lyrics in the first place, he just need to adjust them. The problem was that every idea he had, seemed to slip through his fingers. None of the themes worked with his vision anymore. He scratched his head with the end of the pen as he stared down at a huge pile of nothing.

“Don’t think so hard, you’ll hurt yourself.” Chanyeol looked up to find Kyungsoo looking curiously at the papers in front of him.

“Soo! Please help me.”

Kyungsoo sat down and carefully set down his tray of food so that nothing spilled. “What exactly do you need me to help with and what will I get in compensation.”

“Why are you like this?” Chanyeol pouted, “Can’t you just help me out of the goodness of your heart?”

“I could, except you’ve used all of your free passes for this month so you’re out of luck.”

“Since when did that system come into play?”

“Since now.” Kyungsoo said taking a sip of his soup, then breaking into a grin when Chanyeol slumped down onto the table into a sulk. “I’m kidding, you’ve just been pushing your luck with this whole Jongdae thing lately.”

“I know, I know,” Chanyeol grabbed a piece of meat from Kyungsoo’s plate before he could stop him and popped it into his mouth, “It’s just been rough trying to get that figured out and then doing this whole school thing. We just got things figured out and now I have to work with him on my big project. I don’t know how to feel.” Chanyeol tried to sneak another piece of meat from Kyungsoo’s plate but his hand was slapped away.

“What do you mean you don’t know how to feel?” Kyungsoo’s eyebrows rose over his glasses.

Chanyeol drew circles on one corner of the nearest paper and avoided looking at Kyungsoo. “I dunno, it’s just weird. I hated the guy for months and now I have to spend time with him with no wall between us as a buffer. We’re even being chill with each other like nothing happened. It’s weird.”

“It’s not weird Chanyeol. It’s like a group project. Remember when you nearly punched Junmyeon in the face during the planning stages of the last one. This one is going far better by comparison, you’ll manage.”

Chanyeol sat up, “You’re right, this is much better. Dude, he was being such an ass, at least Jongdae is like normal by comparison…or like doesn’t have a stick up his ass and is on my case all the time. I like Junmyeon but I’m not being his partner any time soon.”

“I’m telling Junmyeon you said that,” Kyungsoo said, picking up his phone and shooting off a message before Chanyeol could do anything to stop him. “I’m glad to hear it hasn’t been a disaster so far. We had bets running for a while as to who would snap first. It didn’t come to blows so Minseok won some good money.”

“You  _ bet _ on us?” Chanyeol gaped at his friend. He had thought Kyungsoo was above that sort of thing.

“ _ I _ didn’t bet, the others did. It’s a pretty hot topic. Too bad you’re getting along now, the debates were pretty funny. We even made a group chat. Sehun was so sure you were going to hook up at some point. I’m pretty sure he still thinks it will happen.”

Chanyeol made a mental note to actually drop a weight on Sehun’s foot this week.

Kyungsoo moved on to his udon. “So, what’s the next step in your project?”

Chanyeol gestured at the papers spread before him with meaningless lyrics scrawled across all of them. “We have to finalize the lyrics first so I guess we’re going to do that in one of our rooms at some point this week when we’re free. Then we have to record. I booked two twelve hour sessions in the recording booth. I really lucked out in getting those.” Chanyeol was rattling all of this off while trying to steal more food from Kyungsoo so he missed the other’s look of surprise.

“That’s an awful long time to spend with someone you just became chill with.”

Chanyeol was chewing the second piece meat he’d managed to steal and said, ‘S like I said, it’s been weirdly fine so far so I’m hoping it just keeps going like that. Might have misjudged him a little but whatever. Plus, ‘s not like we don’t already spend a lot of time together…in a way. Honestly, I don’t really care so long as I get my mark and recognition. He seemed happy about the extra credits so it’s pretty win-win.”

Kyungsoo was staring at him as if this sudden character development was completely fascinating to him. “Don’t stare at me like that Soo, it’s creepy. I know we didn’t get along, but all of the dramatics are a bit much. _ You  _ didn’t even like me at first despite my many charms and look at us now, besties for life.”

Kyungsoo laughed so hard he nearly choked on his food. “Besties for life?”

“You love me.”

“Sure, sure.” Kyungsoo probably meant for that to sound sarcastic but a little warmth came through in response to Chanyeol’s smile. The tender moment was ended when Chanyeol reached over to steal more food, as all good friends do.

Kyungsoo frowned and slapped Chanyeol’s hand. “I seem to recall you being the dramatic one.”

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Chanyeol said as he ignored Kyungsoo’s comment, “Junmyeon agreed to bring us food during recording at some point. Jongdae said it was something along the lines of him not wanting us to starve after hearing what we have planned. I know he can’t cook, so I hope he’s bringing take-out or we might actually die in there.” Chanyeol shuddered at the memory of a terrible group study session he’d been forced to go to.

“I’ll bring food too, on the second weekend,” Kyungsoo said without looking up from his food. Chanyeol could tell he was guarding it carefully from any further attacks, so he didn’t try again. Kyungsoo offering his culinary skills willingly was a rare treat and he did have enough sense to not ruin the moment.

“Seriously?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Yeah why not, I still have a lot of experimenting to do. I’m going to be a kilo heavier if I eat everything I make.”

“You’re just curious about all of this, aren’t you?” Chanyeol asked with narrowed eyes.

“Fine, you caught me. There’s no possible way my motivation was to feed my poor friend as he worked on the biggest project he’d ever been given during a long-ass recording session.”

“Aww Soo, you care so much. It’s cute.”

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t?”

“No, no, your food is the best please grace our palates with your creations.”

“That’s a little better,” Kyungsoo said, taking a sip of water.

“What was that about food service,” Jongdae said, sliding in beside Kyungsoo. His tray had approximately twice as much food piled on it than Kyungsoo’s. Chanyeol slid down the bench to mooch off of him as well. Having your food stolen was an important friend bonding experience. Unfortunately, Jongdae was good at guarding his food.

“I’m actually trying to get this mashed potato recipe right for one of my main dishes, so I was going to share whatever leftovers I had with both of you,” Kyungsoo said after another bite. He was going slower now that Chanyeol had left him alone.

“I am always game for potatoes,” Jongdae said solemnly between inhaling his food, “You can come whenever you want.”

“No don’t invite him like that you idiot, specific times only. If we’re not careful we’ll get  _ unwanted guests. _ ”

“What does that even mean?” Jongdae asked.

“Listen, if Kyungsoo here, or even Junmyeon for that matter, can come and go as they please– with or without food–people might start latching onto them.” Jongdae nodded slowly, realizing what Chanyeol was getting at. They had many friends who would jump at the opportunity to snoop under the guise of doing something useful.

“I am right here,” Kyungsoo said looking at both of them. “If you really want I can just not come.”

“NO, no no no no no,” they both said at the same time. “Please come. We need your food to live,” Chanyeol begged.

“I’m not an idiot, I’ll drop off stuff early for you to eat later. I wouldn’t be caught dead carrying around any parasites when I have to be at school myself to work in the kitchens with all of the free ingredients that I don’t have to spend money on.”

“Oh…great then!”

“Okay I’m leaving, you two have fun. Jongdae he stole your cookies by the way.” Kyungsoo stood up and left the cafeteria without another word, leaving Chanyeol to his fate.

Chanyeol giggled trying to dodge Jongdae’s half-hearted jabs through a huge mouthful of cookie. “You’re going to need to get better than Kyungsoo if you want to stop me.”

“There are other ways to get back at you,” Jongdae said, still trying to poke him.

Chanyeol swallowed, “Yeah but you’re still never seeing this cookie again.”

 

–

 

What Chanyeol failed to notice was the fact that Kyungsoo was still watching them for a moment longer at the other end of the cafeteria. He turned on his cell and opening the “Bros” group chat instead of “KA-ching,” their betting chat. He didn’t want to know what was going on in there now.

 

**GROUP CHAT: Bros *no homo **maybe a little homo**

_ *KSoo added baek and minseok* _

_ *KSoo removed yeol* _

 

_ nini: why was chanyeol removed _

_ nini: and hi _

 

_ baek: yoooooooooooo!! :D _

 

_ minseok: stop _

_ minseok: i assume this is about dumb and dumber _

 

_ KSoo: Who else? _

 

_ brat: I do not care about any of this anymore, im broke _

 

_ baek: who knows, you could still take the pot ;) _

 

_ brat: oho? _

_ brat: ok im interested now _

_ brat: what is this about anyway? _

 

_ KSoo: The two most biggest whiners on campus finally together, not complaining about each other. _

 

_ brat: you do realize if they get together they will be just as noisy as before together than they were apart _

_ brat: possibly more _

 

_ KSoo: Then they can occupy each other’s time together instead, rather than ours. _

_ KSoo: I’m not about to tolerate gross couples, if that even happens. _

_ KSoo: They live next to each other, it’ll be easy to avoid them if they get bad. _

_ KSoo: I left them alone in the cafeteria together just fine. _

 

_ brat: point, proceed _

 

_ baek: wait you left them together?? _

_ baek: alone?? _

 

_ KSoo: Jongdae came over to talk and I was finished so I left. _

 

_ baek: and they just kept sitting together?? _

_ baek: without killing each other???????????? _

_ baek: wait no they made up _

_ baek: still _

_ baek: awkward silence at most _

 

_ KSoo: Chanyeol was trying to steal his food but it looks like they’re talking about music now. _

_ KSoo: They’re still fucking loud, I can hear them from here. _

_ KSoo: I think they’re working on lyrics. _

 

_ baek: what kind of alternate universe is this _

_ baek: time to bet on when they fuck _

 

_ brat: i already did _

_ brat: but now…within the month _

 

_ minseok: no not for the next two, Chanyeol needs time _

_ minseok: jongdae would definitely be down for it sooner, he might be already _

 

_ baek: but he won’t move unless he’s sure so it doesn’t matter _

_ baek: and chanyeol’s an idiot unless something clues him in _

_ baek: this could take years, they might actually need help _

 

_ nini: i didn’t think getting them “together together” was the goal?? _

 

_ KSoo: It’s not. It never was. _

 

_ baek: well it is now, they’re both gay, bi…im not sure but it’s either of the two _

_ baek: it’s not like they’re totally incompatible _

_ baek: in theory _

 

_ nini: not sure i like this…but it could be cute _

 

_ minseok: right? It’s been a while since jongdae dated anyone _

 

_ baek: chanyeol hasn’t done anything since us _

 

_ brat: you still have to explain that _

 

_ baek: there is no explaining it, i don’t know how to _

_ baek: it’s more fun with all of the mystery and rumours _

 

_ brat: but like the butt plug and the other thing you worked on in the gym _

 

_ baek: experimentation is important in relationships sehun leave it alone _

_ baek: it was in the name of research _

 

_ nini: …okay then _

_ nini: can i add them back now? _

 

_ “nini added jongdae and yeol* _

 

_ jongdae: what’s with the chat name _

_ jongdae: nevermind baek is here _

 

_ baek: you called _

 

_ jongdae: no, go back to your hole _

 

_ baek: I didn’t make it fyi _

_ baek: I was just added _

 

_ brat: yeol did actually _

_ brat: he thought it was funny _

 

_ KSoo: You were the one who added the second amendment though? _

 

_ brat: literally half of us are a little homo maybe more, it was pretty justified _

 

_ yeol: im in class don’t light up my phone with this bullshit _

_ yeol: i don’t care what you’re saying, shut up _

 

_ KSoo: We’re done here anyway. _

 

_ jongdae: done with what? i was just added _

 

–

 

Chanyeol plopped himself down on Jongdae’s couch, laptop open and notebook beside him. Jongdae was at his own desk setting up some speakers by a notebook of his own. They were planning to get their lyrics all written in one planning session. Jongdae had even tried to cook for the occasion and Chanyeol had tried to help. The result wasn’t actually that bad, neither of them were terrible at cooking. Their first success gave him a good feeling about the rest of the night.

“I was thinking,” Jongdae said, tapping his pen on his knee, “we should listen a few times and then talk about what you want from the song then I’ll give my thoughts. I’d rather have the song in my head before getting into it.”

“Not a problem, I feel the same…even if I’ve already heard it a few thousand times. You sure the Bluetooth is set up? The speakers on this thing aren’t very loud.” He held up his laptop for emphasis.

“Yep, you’re good to go.” Jongdae tossed him the remote. He caught it with a bit of fumbling.

*THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!* “Guess who?!” A voice called from beyond the door. Chanyeol dropped the remote. He looked at Jongdae to find he was wearing an identical expression of exasperation. Chanyeol forgot it was Friday night.

“Open this door you losers, I know you’re in here even if you don’t say anything.”

“Go away we have homework!” Jongdae shouted.

Taking this as his cue, Chanyeol added, “You can go one week without either one of us going out with you.”

“You’re my best friends, how can I possibly let you stay in doing homework like dweebs when there’s life to be lived outside the small confines of your shabby apartments.” Chanyeol  _ knew _ Baekhyun was pouting on the other side of that wall, Jongdae probably did too since his arms were already crossed and his brows were furrowed.

“We’re not falling for it Baek, go bother Jongin. That’s more fun anyway,” Chanyeol said. He hated throwing Jongin under the bus but it really was kind of fun trying to get under his skin and drag him places. Plus, he had cute puppies you could play with while you tried.

There was no response from the other side of the door, only hushed whispers. Chanyeol was starting to get suspicious. Jongdae had already crossed the room to try and listen to what was going on. The door suddenly slammed open, nearly whacking Jongdae in the face.

“Oops, sorry about that,” Sehun said, pocketing what clearly looked like tools made to pick a lock.

Jongdae looked at him in disbelief. “Did you just break into my fucking room?” he nearly shrieked.

“Lighten up, these locks are old pretty much anyone can do it. You should get Chanyeol to install a deadbolt to prevent theft. He learned the hard way after I got in and crashed there a few times.” Sehun pat Jongdae on the shoulder, who shrugged him off and tried to push him back out the door. It was too late, Baekhyun was already inside and on the couch beside Chanyeol. Han was busy in the kitchen pouring shots and Minseok was carefully removing the sharp pen from Jongdae’s grasp.

“There’s a party tonight and you’re both coming. No excuses,” Baekhyun announced from his spot on the couch. “Everyone’s going to be there, I even managed to get Zetao to convince the others on the basis that they’d be there for him as people he knew. We now need entertainment in the form of you two.”

“I’m not a circus act Baekhyun, we’re busy. Leave.” Jongdae had on hand on his hip and the other on the open door, as if their uninvited guests would just walk back out on their own.

Baekhyun didn’t look at him. “Actually, you’re both the circus act. Everyone is curious because you’re no longer in a constant state of warfare.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes, “Yes because that makes it so much better. What do you even expect from us? We go to the party, drink beers quietly on opposite sides of the room and come home early to work again because that’s exactly what will happen if you drag me there.” Chanyeol was impressed, Jongdae had laid it all out perfectly. That was his plan for the night as well.

“Booo,” Sehun said from his spot on the sofa. “You’re going to play  _ together _ .”

Chanyeol frowned, “Play what? I’m not bringing one of  _ my _ guitars to the party. I don’t even think Soo will even show up.”

“No, no, you’re going to be playing with Jongdae like last time. Everyone wants a repeat performance now that all of this is out of the bag.” Sehun was waving around a full shot glass and Chanyeol was surprised it hadn’t spilt over considering Sehun was already a little tipsy.

“You know what,” Han said, “Talking is getting us nowhere. Take these and drink.” He shoved shots into Chanyeol and Jongdae’s hands and all but forced them to drink.

“You’ve started, now you can’t stop. Get ready to go you have 10 minutes.” Baekhyun announced as he herded the rest out the door. Minseok at least had the grace to look sorry. He had probably been wrangled into this as well.

 

**MESSAGE: Nini**

_ nini: it’s probably too late to warn that you they’re coming for you _

_ nini: they already got to Soo and I and Zetao _

_ nini: we’ll see you there _

_ nini: it’s at yifan’s huge place _

_ nini: im sorry _

 

_ yeol: it’s fine _

_ yeol: just find something sharp i can use to murder baekhyun with _

 

_ nini: …is typing _

_ nini: no wait nvm _

_ nini: i cant lie to save my life, im not participating in murder _

 

_ yeol: it’s fine, you already said soo was there _

 

_ nini: he said to tell you he is ready to go to jail _

 

_ yeol: excellent _

 

_ – _

 

“Jongdae?” Chanyeol said, looking around. “Apparently they actually dragged everyone.”

Jongdae emerged from the bathroom in the same tight jeans he’d worn to the last party. They looked so damn good on him, just like before. He threw on a jacket over a button down and ruffled his hair. “Figures,” he said looking in the mirror. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

Chanyeol hadn’t noticed he was staring and snapped out of it. “Uh, yeah sure.” He walked back to his own room, ignoring the crowd in the hallway. He had forgotten to do laundry so he was stuck with dark jeans and a black t-shirt. He grabbed an oversized sweatshirt and a snapback to put on later since his hair was beyond hope. It wasn’t a party-ready outfit but he didn’t feel party-ready so he wasn’t going to allow himself to be talked into wearing anything else. No one was going to care when they were pissed drunk anyway.

Jongdae was outside when Chanyeol walked out, making sure he had his wallet and phone before locking the door. He immediately had another shot put into his hand with Baekhyun’s guiding it to his mouth. It was a miracle he didn’t spit it right out.

With that they were on their way.

“We’re leaving as soon as possible right,” Chanyeol whispered to Jongdae while adjusting his snapback.

“Of course. You managed to escape last time but if they manage to get us with a musical instrument again in the middle of a crowd we won’t be able to leave for hours.”

Chanyeol froze, he hadn’t thought of that. Jongdae was right. “Okay, so basically we stand near Kyungsoo and lay low while he repels people with his glare and then leave when they’re distracted.”

“I like that idea. I’ve seen him at parties, it’s foolproof.”

 

–

 

When they reached the party Chanyeol headed straight for the beer, snatching up two bottles and handing one to Jongdae who looked pleased but a little confused. “This is to prevent them from trying to shove anything harder in our faces!” Chanyeol yelled over the pounding music. It was deafening, they might as well be at a club.

“Good thinking, we should find Kyungsoo!”

At some point, they wound up spotting Kyungsoo sitting on an empty couch in a mostly empty room looking tired. He had flour on his cheek that Chanyeol carefully wiped off, causing him to jump and punch Chanyeol in the stomach. While trying not to vomit, he sat on one side of Kyungsoo and Jongdae on the other. Chanyeol pulled out a notebook and pen he had thrown into his jean pocket before he left and started writing furiously.

“Lyrics?!” Kyungsoo shouted in his ear.

“Yeah!” he yelled even louder.

Jongdae looked over in front of Kyungsoo, “Lyrics!? You inspired or something?!”

“No but I might think of something if I try. At least I look busy!”

“Come sit next to me so we can look productive together!” Jongdae shouted.

Neither of them noticed Kyungsoo had his hands over his ears until he stood up and walked to wear Jongin was talking to some sorority girls. They must have been bad if he was willingly getting up to socialize. With Kyungsoo gone, Chanyeol slid up beside Jongdae so that they were close enough to hear each other without shouting. It was a little too intimate for his tastes, Jongdae’s breath smelt like alcohol and they had talk directly into each other’s ears but he was tipsy enough that he didn’t particularly care.

“So, what do you think we should do?” Jongdae asked after Chanyeol spent a good 20 seconds staring at his notepad.

Jongdae shifted so he could snatch the notebook and flip through it. “It’s a good song with an interesting melody, what do you have already?” After going through the pages, he said, “This is a whole lot of nothing for so much writing.”

“Uhhh,” he dragged his thought out so long Jongdae huffed with impatience. Chanyeol wrinkled his nose at the smell. “I’m getting there, I want it to be something fun. Dynamic. The song was like that to begin with after all.”

“Ok I like that, but how? What angle are we going with?”

“Well, I have this ridiculous ex-boyfriend but it was crazy and fun too…” Chanyeol started hesitantly. He knew it was a bad direction the moment it left his mouth, but he  _ had _ enjoyed how dynamic the whole thing had been. They mostly broke up through a mutual agreement that it was getting to be too much and was starting to affect their school. He was now just a chaotic friend.

“Yeah, we all know, I got a lot of the details. Unwillingly.…But i get it.” Chanyeol wasn’t going to ask him how much he knew, it didn’t matter since that wasn’t the point.

“Is he your ex too? I’ve been wondering since you’ve known each other for so long.”

Jongdae laughed, “We ‘experimented’ a little in high school, as one does, but not as much as you did apparently. I’ve learned since then. Plus, it was weird because we’ve known each other for too long.”

Jongdae’s expression went serious again, “Back to the song, what does this have to do with anything?”

“The fun wildness, I guess, could be a starting point. Something fun like an experiment where you try things out but it ends up going deeper than expected. Not that the  _ something _ did, I’m just saying. One of those things where you, like, suddenly feel like you know you’re in over your head …or something.”

Jongdae looked at Chanyeol thoughtfully, “That’s pretty interesting but it’s a duet remember, and we both have to do this. Think of it as two people singing, not one.”

“Then……a push and pull sort of thing maybe? You know, like both parties slowly fall into it until they’re head over heels.” Chanyeol was trying to grasp at straws, doing this while drunk might not have been the best idea.

“I like that better but the way you said it is kind of soft. The song is cooler than that.” Chanyeol looked at Jongdae in surprise. “Something less sweet maybe? Neither party really clicks until they do later in the song, but in a not sweet way. This sounds like the push and pull thing but like…different.”

“Mmm, I think I got you...

There was a lull in their conversation as Chanyeol scribbled all of this down as well as a few afterthoughts that might be lyrics. Jongdae just watched before grabbing the notepad and writing a few things himself. In-between, they both stared out with blank expressions, lost in thought.

Eventually Chanyeol snapped out of it, unable to focus through the noise, He took this opportunity to look around the room. Kyungsoo was standing by the fireplace, glowering. Jongin had moved onto the dance floor with Sehun. It was a little unfair how good they were. Yifan was conducting a beer pong tournament in the dining room. There were too many people to see much else.

Minseok came over from out of nowhere and dragged Jongdae onto the dance floor. He only had enough time to give Chanyeol his notebook back. Chanyeol decided he was going to stay on the couch and simply watch while nursing his nearly empty beer. Jongdae wasn’t the best dancer, especially when compared to Minseok, but it was kind of endearing to watch him go at it with some enthusiasm. Chanyeol guessed the alcohol finally hit.

Han appeared with another shot that he poured down Chanyeol’s throat before disappearing in the crowd. Before he left he said, “This was on Baekhyun, not me. He said he found a guitar and knows you’re on the couch.” He hopped out of reach as Chanyeol grabbed at him. He would have to get his revenge later. He did not plan on getting drunk that night. Coughing he took another sip of his beer. It didn’t help much but the taste in his mouth improved marginally.

In the few seconds it had taken to recover, Chanyeol had lost sight of Jongdae and Minseok. Scanning the crowd, he couldn’t see where they’d gone. Instead he went through the lyrics he’d written already.

“Miss me!?” Chanyeol jumped when Kyungsoo decided it would be a good idea to plop down beside him.

Chanyeol frowned and moved away. “No!”

“Are you actually doing work for real?! I didn’t think you were this dedicated!” Kyungsoo’s eyes were wide as he squinted down at the pages covered with notes.

Chanyeol leafed through his book for Kyungsoo’s benefit.  “Uh, yeah…I got a little inspired there for a bit! Somewhere between you leaving with Jongin and Baekhyun getting on the table. I managed to get some thoughts down with Jongdae!”

“Of course you did! Where did your partner in crime go anyway?!”

“He’s not my partner anyth–” before Chanyeol finished Jongdae grabbed his arm and yanked him onto the dance floor before he could say another word. Chanyeol did not miss Kyungsoo’s smirk.

“I refuse to dance with Jongin on the dance floor!” Chanyeol shouted, digging his heels into the floor. He could feel the heat of the bodies from here and did not want to be in the middle of that.

“I’ll go get Han again!”

“No, fuck you!” Not wanting further…anything, he reluctantly started swaying as they moved further inward. He was terrible at dancing and he knew it. Maybe if he was extra terrible for a while, he’d be freed from the heat and the bodies and the smell of alcohol, perfumes, and sweat.

“Why did you even bring me here, I can’t dance?!” He made a few stiff movements to prove his point.

There were so many people around them they were pressed awkwardly together. Chanyeol had no idea who any of these people were, so he wasn’t worried about being seen like this and having his proximity to Jongdae misunderstood yet again. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he did his best to follow Jongdae’s own movements.

“I had to do it!” Jongdae shouted, "They found a guitar and I know they were looking for us! Baek knows we can’t dance so he won’t look for us here!”

“I know, they already found me! Good thinking!”

They continued to move awkwardly to music Chanyeol knew neither of them listened to in silence. Then he started to laugh. He couldn’t stop himself, the whole situation was just so terrible. They were trying to avoid singing by dancing after avoiding it like the plague, or at least in his case since he had no one to drag him here. They were so bad at doing this it was truly comical. Jongdae started laughing too when he came to the same realization.

“What even is this?!” Jongdae shouted in-between snickering, mimicking Chanyeol’s swaying.

Chanyeol scoffed, “My arms do not look like noodles. At least I’m not moving my hips like some weirdo.” To prove his point, he stuck out his hips and swayed them from side to side, much further than Jongdae had been doing.

“Okay, Noodle man,” Jongdae said, doing both moves at the same time.

Chanyeol was dying. He could barely bring himself to copy whatever Jongdae had been doing before he started the hips thing, nearly collapsing onto Jongdae’s shoulder to keep from falling onto the ground in laughter. Before long they had a wide space on the dance floor all to themselves, wheezing as they found new ways to mock each other. People were looking at them like they’d come from another planet while others joined in on the laughter. Sehun had doubled over like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen when they started popping and locking.

“What are you guys doing?!” Baekhyun said, looking completely stunned when he arrived with the guitar. He was trying very hard to keep a straight face.

Jongdae raised his eyebrows and wiggled his shoulders, “Dancing, wanna join?!”

Chanyeol started cackling at the confused expression on Baekhyun’s face. However, because he didn’t want to deal with Baekhyun and the guitar once the shock wore off, he grabbed Jongdae’s arm, nodded at Kyungsoo who was talking with Junmyeon, and pulled him into the hallway. The crowd was frozen, having had their entertainment leave so suddenly, so they didn’t have any followers.

Their laughter died down once things were a little quieter in the hallway by the door. Jongdae pulled out his phone for a moment. “I got us an Uber, we can finish those lyrics when we get back if you want. I need to get out of here.”

“Same, I’m game for that. I have to say though, that was the most fun I’ve had at a party in forever.” He was gasping for breath, one hand against the wall.

“Ah we can dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind, cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance, well they're are no friends of mine,” Jongdae sang breathlessly. He was still kind of drunk but strangely, the lyrics fit.

“I say, we can go where we want to, a place where they will never find. And we can act like we come from out of this world, leave the real one far behind.” Chanyeol sang automatically in response before they were giggling again. “The Safety Dance, really?”

“It felt appropriate. And look, another duet, how fitting?” Jongdae swayed a bit and grabbed onto Chanyeol’s arm for balance.

“Pretty sure that whole dance…thing qualified too. What even was that?” Chanyeol imitated one of the move’s Jongdae had done, a weird shoulder wiggle.

“That’s not even how you do it…anyway I call this medley The Unsafety Dance…for those who watch and/or participate.”

“Good call,” he had the strange impression he was smiling fondly at Jongdae, but that was silly.

“Oh our Uber is here!” Jongdae exclaimed. He marched to the door, tripping a bit on the rug before it. Chanyeol followed, managing to trip in the exact same place.

 

–

 

The Uber smelt too much like new car and the driver asked too many questions, like how did they get so drunk they barely made it to the car, or why they were laughing like idiots the whole time. Chanyeol decided he was not happy with his experience about 3 minutes in. Jongdae on the other hand had promptly fallen asleep on Chanyeol’s shoulder, looking much softer than he did when he was awake. He somehow seemed even smaller as well, it was kind of cute.

When the Uber stopped in front of their building Chanyeol thanked the driver and dragged a sleepy Jongdae from the back seat. He carefully arranged him into a piggyback so he could bring him upstairs without disturbing him too much. Jongdae was pretty light and looked tired so Chanyeol figured he’d do him a favour.

“Wha-Chanyeol?” Jongdae muttered when he was a little more conscious. His movements threatened to topple Chanyeol over. He was still tipsy, so he came close to slamming into a wall while they waited for the elevator.

Struggling to stand upright again, Chanyeol explained, “You fell asleep.”

“Ahh,” Jongdae said with understanding. He went limp again and Chanyeol assumed he’d fallen asleep once more.

When the elevator opened Chanyeol dashed inside so he could lean against the wall properly, accidentally waking Jongdae again. “Holy shit you’re tall,” Jongdae muttered once the elevator opened and he was walking down the hall. Apparently, he was a little more conscious this time.

“Yep,” he grunted.

They reached Jongdae’s apartment and Chanyeol was so dazed he merely stared at the door in exhaustion. “Chanyeol. Yo, Chanyeol. Earth to Chanyeol, can you let me down?”

“Can’t,” he said, voice straining.

“Uh why.”

“Honestly? If I set you down now I might just fall over so wait until we reach your bed. Give me your key first.”

He could feel Jongdae’s puzzled gaze but was given the keys to the doors after some difficulty and let both of them into the room. He made a beeline to the bed and dropped Jongdae on it unceremoniously and fell down beside him. Jongdae’s bed was so soft and warm he wished he was tired enough to fall asleep right there. Unfortunately, despite how tipsy he was, and despite how exhausted he had just felt, after a few seconds he was very much awake again. After his nap, it didn’t look like Jongdae was all that tired either.

The reason for his sudden surge of energy was the notebook he felt in his pocket after falling onto the bed, the one they’d been scribbling lyrics on all night. He pulled it out and leafed through it, grateful it hadn’t fallen out in the midst of their dance battle. His pen was gone though. He ripped out the pages they’d written more concrete lyrics on and tried to arrange them coherently on Jongdae’s desk.

“Ok the lyrics,” Chanyeol said looking over at Jongdae, who was still sprawled on the bed, his shirt hiked up to reveal a soft trail of hair. He shook his head, he was too drunk to think about that. It was time for lyrics not whatever that was.

“I’m not tired, are you?” Jongdae asked, rolling on his side to face Chanyeol.

“Might as well use these creative juices, that’s a euphemism for alcohol, right? Doesn’t matter. Let’s just see where it gets us, if anywhere at all. I want to have  _ something _ to show for tonight.”

“I feel that, ok let’s give it a shot.” Chanyeol groaned and gave him a look. Jongdae laughed.

When Jongdae was over his own pun, they both got into the same positions they’d been in before being rudely interrupted. Jongdae had gone to change back into sweats–Chanyeol felt the loss of those jeans in his soul–and Chanyeol had done the same. When they were settled he asked, “So what are we writing about?”

“We were supposed to play the track a few times first,” Jongdae said looking over at him.

“Oh right.” He pressed play, hoping the Bluetooth speakers were still connected properly. The song played without a hitch and they both sat in silence as the song played through once, twice, and then three times.

Jongdae’s face was screwed up with thought, Chanyeol anxiously awaiting what he had to say. “What if…no…what if…aaaah…ok remember what I said about the push and pull but less soft? What if they weren’t “clicking” even though they want to, that something is between them that just doesn’t make it work. I’m not kidding, it might be cool.”

“That definitely goes with the music,” Chanyeol said, trying to replay the track in his head. He’d done a lot of layering and each part of the song was different from the others, it all worked through common rhythms and melody and came together at the end but the differences were key. The fact that everything came together at the end and then hushed low in a simplistic version of the merged melody before getting large again…the music had a narrative so the lyrics should as well.

“Exactly!” Jongdae exclaimed, “So, they know the other is interested but what they say in the lyrics pulls them apart.” Jongdae was carefully jotting this down as if he’d forget and Chanyeol did the same. They both forgot they’d already written this general idea down earlier.

Jongdae continued, “We could do this thing, you know how the chorus is kind of layered different each time? The harmonies, we can build them as the song goes and the characters get closer as they reach common ground and then during the bridge and after that it’s a thing for the final build. I can hit high notes, you know that, and your voice is low so we could use that and make the harmonies work better in the end. it could be wild.” Jongdae was rambling but making complete sense at the same time. He really  _ got  _ it. Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! I like that…I like that a lot. I was thinking the same thing, it really works. It’s perfect.” He had been struggling to put it into words and somehow Jongdae managed to iron it all out into a few sentences. He continued explaining intricacies in dynamics that had slowly been creeping into his mind and Jongdae just lapped it up, giving suggestions of his own.

A few lines into the actual song, once they’d decided how the first verse was going to go, Chanyeol noticed a pattern. “Dude, this song is very much not platonic.”

“Does it have to be, I thought that was the whole point. Your original song wasn’t.”

“Nah, I just hope no one else gets pissed because well…. you know. I’m sure it’ll be fine since I like it and I also don’t care.”

“Then why bring it up…?” Jongdae asked quietly. “No don’t answer that, I get it. Ok so the part where the sounds come together, that’s where we should do this thing where we overlap our voices. Harmonies and whatever, we have to carefully work the lyrics, they have to make sense or the whole thing doesn’t work. It’ll be perfect if we nail it.”

“You, my friend, are absolutely right, now let me just put that on paper.”

Things continued like this for hours, arguing back and forth between words and beats and the right rhythms for each syllable. They sang bits and pieces to each other and with each other, trying to stay on key while drunk. The track was played over and over while they tried to get it right.

They decided it was about two different people, leading two different lives while wanting very different things, both totally incompatible. They start off as antagonistic but interested, communicate but are unable to because of the disconnect between them. The highs and lows of their voices with the differences between the verses and choruses musically would emphasize this, especially the frustration. As each side echoes, they start to hear each other and understand, with the bridge being like a literal bridge. The final chorus ends with the song in reverse as they hear each other uninhibited. Chanyeol thought it was sweet, but definitely in a different way he had initially intended. It also wasn’t as fun from the get go but the ending when they got together was and he was okay with that. Jongdae was really good at this.

 

_ Static noise, it fills this space _

_ Keeping us from matching pace _

_ I can’t call out your name _

_ Come on why won’t you just cease _

_ It’s always more of the same _

_ I just want some release _

_ From this deafening noise _

_ That won’t mend just destroys _

_ I scream aloud but the sound leaves no trace _

 

At about 4am Chanyeol sat up and stretched from where he was hunched over Jongdae’s desk. “This is pretty much the end so I think we’re done. We can make adjustments later.” Chanyeol scribbled the last few lyrics onto the Master Sheet and typed them into the Master Document.

“Great, now I’m ready to pass out,” Jongdae said from beneath the pillow lying on his face.

Chanyeol had no idea how long they wrote for or when he had to get up and vomit into the toilet. He doesn’t remember Jongdae giving him an extra shirt and shorts at some point because he didn’t have long enough pants. He also doesn’t remember them both passing out on Jongdae’s double bed, papers strewn about the place because he didn’t want to walk to his own room. What he does remember was having a lot of fun through the haze of alcohol and that they had a great fucking song with great fucking lyrics.

Chanyeol reached over to grab his phone, waking up Jongdae in the process who frowned at him and pushed his arm aside. Chanyeol had what he wanted so he leaned back on one of the pillows and checked his emails. Once they had a draft finished he emailed it to his prof since it was nearly the deadline. She responded immediately. She loved them of course and only hoped they would develop and improve. Chanyeol gave some sort of agreeable response before he opened the group chat. Jongdae watched him through half-open eyes and pulled out his own phone.

 

**GROUP CHAT: Bros *no homo **maybe a little homo**

 

_ yeol: *pastes lyrics of yet to be named song* _

_ yeol: what do you think of these lyrics jongdae and i wrote _

 

_ jongdae: if you can’t say anything nice than fuck off the prof already approved _

 

_ brat: These are pretty fucjing gay i nearly spit out my drink _

 

_ jongdae: It’s a love song you moron plus it’s gender neutral _

 

_ baek: agree with brat _

_ baek: plus, both of you are singing it _

_ baek: that’s pretty gay ngl _

 

_ yeol: not even the point of the song _

_ yeol: it’s not even really romantic if you think about it _

_ yeol: you know what it doesn’t matter _

_ yeol: we’re getting the credit and you are not _

 

_ jongdae: correct _

_ jongdae: plus baek _

_ jongdae: you can’t write your way out of a paper bag, the HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT LOVED IT _

 

_ brat: Wait really _

_ brat: this is wow legit _

 

_ KSoo: Hold on, let me read them. _

_ KSoo: These are actually pretty good. _

 

_ baek: Shit, these are good _

_ baek: I can’t even say anything _

 

_ yeol: the fuck was all of that earlier then _

 

_ baek: i just saw sehun’s comment and went off _

 

_ jongdae: you trust him over us? _

 

_ baek: nah im just lazy _

 

_ brat: I take offense at having to do all the work _

 

_ baek: good, you’re learning _

_ baek: don’t comment first _

 

_ nini: You guys are good _

_ nini: Share your money with me when you’re famous. _

 

_ yeol: you’re allowed on the list for being nice _

_ yeol: fuck the rest of you _

 

_ – _

 

**MESSAGE: KSOO**

 

_ KSoo: You’re hitting it off well. _

 

_ yeol: what do you mean by that _

 

_ KSoo: I mean you’re no longer at each other’s necks and you worked together for a solid 15 hours. _

_ KSoo: If that’s not progress I don’t know what is. _

_ KSoo: I haven’t forgotten what happened at the party either. _

 

_ yeol: we were drunk _

 

_ KSoo: Not at the beginning you weren’t. _

 

_ yeol: it’s a professional relationship _

 

_ yeol: get off my back _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- My pop culture choices aren't great and I'm sorry (but not because The Safety Dance is iconic).
> 
> \- I loved their Sugarman performance, which inspired that part of this fic.
> 
> \- No, I'm not writing the whole song, I'm not a poet or a lyricist and that was embarrassing enough as is. 
> 
> ** My Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** Writing Twitter [carpedaem](https://twitter.com/carpedaem)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little rough because HELLA excited about Jongdae's solo album and wanted to get something out. Idk how I feel about how everything played out and I might do a read-over later.

****“You need to sing it faster and lower,” Jongdae said from beyond the glass. “Keep up with the tempo. You _play the drums_ there’s no excuse.”

The first day of recording was a nightmare. He had to be walked through it step by step because he’d never done this professionally before and was never satisfied with the result. Jongdae had started off patiently, singing his part so Chanyeol could have something to sing along with, but that only lasted so long.

“Do you want me to sing it in tune or not, I can’t go this low easily,” Chanyeol complained.

Jongdae sang the part perfectly in the same low pitch. “If I can do it so can you.” Chanyeol was starting to resent the fact that Jongdae could not only sing much higher than he could, but sing just as deeply as he could.

“Thank you for showing off Mr. Perfect, not everyone has the same range as you do. Give me a break.” Chanyeol was going to scream. Jongdae was merciless _and_ he kept whining whenever Chanyeol did it back.

“Just do it again,” Jongdae said, spinning in the chair.

Chanyeol did it and _finally_ managed to get it. “YAAAAAAY!!” Jongdae exclaimed from beyond the glass, there was a sarcastic edge to his voice. Whatever sarcasm he detected must have been false because he opened the door and gave Chanyeol a big hug, knocking the breath out of him. Chanyeol laughed breathlessly in relief. Chanyeol was struck once again by how small Jongdae was and almost said something about it but didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Oho? What are you two doing in the recording studio.~” Baekhyun called from the doorway.

“Why are you here?” Jongdae shot at him, still holding onto Chanyeol.

Baekhyun held up a paper bag just as a disgruntled Kyungsoo walked in behind him carrying a similar bag. “I came to help Kyungsoo bring the food!”

“I thought Junmyeon was going to bring it today.” Chanyeol said to Kyungsoo, ignoring Baekhyun.

“Junmyeon couldn’t make it,  so he messaged me to do it today instead. I came across Baekhyun in the hall and he managed to figure everything out on his own. He wouldn’t leave so it was this or listening to him beg to come the entire way here anyway. This way I only had to tune him out sans any complaints.” Kyungsoo said, laying out all of the side dishes he’d prepared.

“More importantly than all of that,” Baekhyun said, “what were you two doing?”

“He finished recording after 10 hours of sitting me here listening to him get it wrong, you’d be crying with relief too if you were me,” Jongdae said simply. He walked out of the booth and straight to the food. Snatching up the chopsticks Kyungsoo had just placed on the table.

“It was only _seven_ hours thank you very much,” Chanyeol said glaring at him. He hoped Jongdae had turned off the mics, he didn’t want to have to sort through and erase this entire conversation. “Anyway, I’d have risked hugging Kyungsoo if we’d gone through the same thing. Think about that.”

“You have a valid point,” Baekhyun said, sitting down to eat.

Kyungsoo slapped his hand. “That’s not for you, you leech.”

Chanyeol settled down to eat beside Jongdae. They were both so hungry they inhaled the food without a word. Baekhyun talked enough for the three of them so it didn’t matter. It was a good thing the room was sound proof.

Once they’d finished eating, Chanyeol went right back to the recording booth. They’d only finished the first parts of the song had a lot left to record. Their two guests remained and provided commentary for the remainder of the final two hours, driving Jongdae and Chanyeol nuts. They did make a few valid contributions, which was the only reason Baekhyun was allowed to remain.

They’d only just managed to complete Chanyeol’s recording before their time was up. This time everything needed to be perfect.

 

–

 

Jongdae pulled down the earphones he’d been wearing and stepped back from the mic. “Do I really have to sing it again? That last time was perfect and we’ve been here for four hours. My feet hurt.” He was whining again and it was doing nothing to help Chanyeol’s headache.

This was their second recording session. They’d spent most of the first one trying to figure everything out, complete the lyrics, and then work through Chanyeol’s part. Eventually both of them were snapping at each other until the whole process was finally over and they could leave. It seemed today was no different.

“Yes you do. You went up a little too high at the end so we just have to redo that part. It didn’t harmonize properly with the track because you’re too tired.” Chanyeol said through the mic on his side. This was partially payback from yesterday and partially because both of them wanted this to be perfect and he was well aware Jongdae wasn’t happy with it either.

“I am not too tired you’re just being too picky. You can just adjust it to fit the music can’t you?”

“Look, I’m not re-recording my voice or autotuning you. This part took even longer for me. Just do it, please?” Chanyeol leaned against the table, making a few adjustments here and there.

“Fine,” Jongdae grumbled. He hit it perfectly the second time around. It had been like this the entire time so Chanyeol wasn’t exactly mad, Jongdae just insisted at every part to retry again and again. Chanyeol had to wonder why Jongdae pushed himself so hard to attain perfection. He belittled himself too much for someone with so much talent. Chanyeol knew why he himself did it since he really did have a lot to work on, but he’d never thought to ask Jongdae why he did the same.

Jongdae took off the headphones again and stalked out of the booth. Chanyeol was about to get up and order him to go back inside but Jongdae held up one finger to stop him. “This is getting us nowhere and all of this adjusting is just making it sound artificial even without the autotune. It sounded so much better when we practiced together.”

Jongdae was completely right. He’d been listening to the whole thing when Jongdae took short breaks to rest his voice. It sounded nothing like what he wanted. “So what do you propose we do?” Chanyeol had been agonizing over this recording all week with little sleep, he was exhausted trying to make the track mesh with his own voice and now he’d have to do it all again with Jongdae’s.

“Get someone to help and record us while we sing it together naturally. Yifan should be free around now and he’s done something like this at some point…I think. He’s better than nothing.”

“Together? As in we both stand in there and sing the whole thing in front of the mic?” Chanyeol said, just to be sure he heard right.

“Well yeah, that’s how we’re performing it right? If we harmonize in real time it’ll be easier to nail it without having to mix everything. You’ll be able to adjust everything easier too.” Jongdae was right. He was completely right. Chanyeol hated this idea but he had an easier time getting his part right when Jongdae sang his part beforehand or at the same time from outside the booth to let him get the hang of it.

“Okay fine, let’s try it. It’s the best idea we’ve had yet. We don’t have that much time though.”

“It’s pretty clear we both know the parts and how to sing them, just message him already,” Jongdae said, sitting down in the chair and spinning around.

“Stop that, I’m doing it.” Chanyeol was already pulling out his phone and shooting out a few texts. He reached out to a few people in case Yifan couldn’t make it. They only had a few hours left.

He was a little nervous of actually performing together. It was very different from just layering their voices together or jamming along as they hashed this mess together. Jongdae spent a good chunk of time reassuring him until Yifan got there. “Just sing it, it’ll sound natural even if you crack up a bit…which you won’t because you were fine yesterday and the day before.” Jongdae was doing a terrible job at this because Chanyeol still felt nervous.

In the end Yifan showed up shortly before Junmyeon did, the latter bringing a large bag of food that was only promised to them once they’d finished recording so as to keep their vocals consistent. They both whined an equal amount about being deprived of the food before they were forced back into the sound booth so they could record. Chanyeol put up an even larger fuss just because he still didn’t feel like doing this, but eventually they settled down with the lyrics between them.

It took a few run throughs and a few shouting matches to get their harmonies right. All of this was punctuated by occasional remarks by Yifan or Junmyeon, but it was really Chanyeol and Jongdae running the show. Despite some creative differences, by the end they were both smiling and Chanyeol was more than satisfied with the result. Jongdae was absolutely right about having them sing it together, everything sounded more natural and there was little left to do. Jongdae was pretty easy to sing with, which helped.

The way Jongdae was taking all of this so seriously was kind of touching. Chanyeol supposed the fact that he was getting credit for this had something to do with it, but he was very invested in producing a quality track. Jongdae being very vocal about his objections actually made him easier to work with in that the quality got better as they were forced to discuss and compromise with each other. He was also pretty friendly in general which made the moments where they weren’t in dispute fun. In short, Chanyeol was enjoying himself immensely and the results were worth belting up and asking Jongdae for help in the first place.

Chanyeol walked over to where Jongdae was lying sprawled on one of the couches in the recording studio. The others had already left and they were alone until their time was up. Feeling just as exhausted he plopped himself on the couch as well. “It’s finished.”

“Yep,” Jongdae said, eyes unfocused.

“It’s a damn good track,” Chanyeol said with a yawn.

“Understatement.” Jongdae gave a yawn of his own.

“We’re going to ace this aren’t we.” Chanyeol shoved Jongdae until he had enough room to sprawl out.

“You know it,” Jongdae grinned fiercely and Chanyeol let out a huff of laughter. He was too tired to respond.

Chanyeol switched sides and leaned against Jongdae, unable to keep himself upright anymore and filled with the need to be a bother. “Ugh dude you’re heavy,” Jongdae said trying to push him off.

Chanyeol closed his eyes and got comfortable despite Jongdae’s attempts to shove him away. “So are you if you recall. Just give me five minutes.”

“Can’t you lie on the other side of the couch like before?” Jongdae grunted, trying to shove Chanyeol into a less awkward position. Chanyeol’s head fell into Jongdae’s lap.

“Too much effort. You’re really bony though. Your shoulders? Not a good pillow,” he mumbled, “But your thighs are nice.”

“Well I’m sorry I’m not a pillow,” Jongdae drawled, “And thanks, I guess? We only have five minutes left in here, you can’t fall asleep.” He pulled at Chanyeol’s ear, causing him to yelp.

“OWWW! Ok fine fine.” Chanyeol shot up, rubbing his ears. They packed everything up and Chanyeol unplugged his external hard drive from the system, making sure everything was saved properly both there and on his laptop. He wasn’t going to lose any of this.

 

–

  


Chanyeol couldn’t keep himself from running down the hallway. He knew Jongdae had class around now in this particular auditorium and he hoped to catch him as he left. Immediately after he got there he spotted Jongdae’s dark hair and sharp cheekbones. He pushed through the crowd and pulled him into a massive bear hug.

“Chanyeol wha–?” Was all Jongdae managed to get out before being suffocated in Chanyeol’s embrace.

Chanyeol pushed Jongdae out at arms length, keeping a tight grip on Jongdae’s shoulders. He couldn’t stop beaming. “They loved our recording. The entire music faculty. They loved it.”

“Seriously?” Jongdae said, his eyes lighting up.

“Yeah!” Chanyeol replied, unable to contain his excitement. He was practically jumping up and down and Jongdae was trying to make him stop as he was jostled in the process. They were loud enough to catch the attention of the crowd and received a few dirty looks, but he didn’t care. “The prof, she said it was far better than the track I’d shown her before. I had her listen to a few other ones and she wants us to do a few more for the showcase at the end of the year. I had a big time slot to begin with so it’s all good and wow this is so exciting.”

The end of year showcase was a big deal. The selected pieces to perform were the best of the best in the department and people fought tooth and nail for positions as solo acts. They were both already featured in ensembles but this specifically was an honour.

After the initial buzz had wound down, Jongdae was just smiling at him warmly as he waited for Chanyeol to finish, his eyes sparkling as they did whenever he got excited. “So are you going to do more?”

“Well yeah of course. I have a few pieces in mind that I’ve been working on for a while. They’ve had good reception thus far so I think they should work. This might be my big break.”

The corners of Jongdae’s mouth twitched, “You think you can handle that? It’s a lot of pressure?”

“Oh just shut up and be happy,” Chanyeol snapped without any bite. “I’ve never done this sort of thing and no one has ever paid my work so much attention.”

“And you want me to help right?” Jongdae asked. His eyes were still shining but there was an uncertainty in his voice. He was looking straight at Chanyeol, the question lingering between them.

Chanyeol cocked his head to the side, “Of course, you worked on this as much as I did it’d be unfair of me not to invite you to help. You don’t even need inviting, this is our thing. Who knows, you could be a famous singer after this.”

Jongdae visibly relaxed before he started buzzing with excitement again, “I know we both have a lot to do and are really, really busy with everything else, but hell this project is the biggest thing I’ve done since I started here.”

“I know right? This is the chance of a lifetime, even more than it was before. Singers, songwriters, performers, we have it all.” They really did. Chanyeol couldn’t believe it himself. Who would have guessed his most hated neighbour would be so key to his success, _their_ success. He fought off the urge to hug Jongdae again and compromised by patting him on the shoulder.

“We might even be able to get Baek to fill in the piano parts, he owes me a favour,” Jongdae said.

“He _owes_ you a favour, that’s pretty big. I do think that’s a good idea, it’d fill in my guitar sounds without a back track. As much as I’d hate asking him, he really can play well. Not that I can’t of course, it’d just be weird with me singing at a piano and singing and you just doing you…it’d be better with me on guitar.”

“Agreed. Now let’s go get lunch,” Jongdae said with finality and Chanyeol led the way.

Once they were seated, both carrying heavy laden trays, Chanyeol’s mind finally started working again. He finally registered what they were going to have to do. It hadn’t quite dawned on him exactly how big of a deal this was even if he knew all of the pieces that this huge project was comprised of. Their school had a well known music program with hundreds of students enrolled and _his_ composition was the one they’d chosen. It was a huge amount of pressure that hit him like a freight train.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae said but Chanyeol couldn’t hear. “Chanyeol!” he repeated, much louder. Chanyeol jumped and looked at Jongdae.

“You just suddenly spaced out, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Are you okay?” Jongdae’s eyes were searching his face, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Perform…” Chanyeol said shakily.

“Perform? What are you talking about.”

 

Chanyeol gulped. “Dude I can’t perform our songs like…like _that_ , with all of those other performers. I’m always in the back at these things, I’ve never been featured as a _singer_.” He really meant it, he felt sick just thinking about it. He never really got stage fright and he didn’t understand why he was getting it now

“Chanyeol, you perform all the time. At parties, in ensemble, at the coffee shop Kyungsoo keeps talking to me about. I’ve seen you. You even agreed to do it in the first place.”

Chanyeol took a deep breath. “I know, which is why I don’t know what’s happening. Playing is fine, rapping is fine, anything…the focus here though is singing. Singing _my_ stuff. I don’t know if I have the confidence to do it. I mean sure I have confidence or I wouldn’t have agreed, but it’s different once you _think_ about it. How am I supposed to sing in front of that many people with expectations that high? That’s why I asked her if I could get someone else to sing in the first place. Why do you think I knocked on your door when we weren’t even on speaking terms?” Chanyeol was staring at his food as he rambled. Jongdae, thankfully, just listened and nodded when appropriate.

“So you’re nervous?” Jongdae asked, condensing his thoughts into one question.

“Sort of? I guess I just don’t feel ready for this kind of thing, you know?” Jongdae nodded. “If I was just playing guitar or piano…why did you make me agree to sing?!”

“It’s your song! It sounds good with you singing. The others all said so too, your prof included. It wouldn’t sound nearly as good with me singing alone.”

“Oh it definitely would.”

“Chanyeol, please. You know it sounds great, you nearly burst into tears when you listened to the final recordings of us doing it together, don’t kid yourself. Besides, it’s too late now, we wrote it as a duet and we’re not looking for someone else to replace you nor are we rewriting the whole thing.”

“Ughhhh, okay fine.”

“Once you’ve stopped being a whiny baby, we can start on those other songs.” Jongdae said brightly. Chanyeol looked at him from between his arms, his head stilly resting on them. At some point during their conversation he’d slouched over the table and wrapped them around his head.

“I’m not a whiny baby, I have valid concerns. Performance anxiety is a real thing.”

“Of course it is, I’m not saying it isn’t. How do you think i feel when I have to go out there alone and sing like everyone expects me to. Those notes don’t hit themselves and my voice might crack or I’ll be off pitch or I’ll be out of breath or…you get the picture. You just have to practice until you’re somewhat okay with doing it.”

“How? It’s not like we’re going to get that kind of audience off the bat.”

“We get _any_ audience and sing the song. The songs. All the songs we write. You’re pretty confident, especially when you get going so we can just figure it out. It’s not rocket science. This is how you’re supposed to get over it.

Chanyeol moaned, “Okay fine. We’ll perform it however many times or whatever.”

“That’s the spirit,” Jongdae said cheerfully, getting back to his food.

Chanyeol knew Jongdae had a point. He actually had several points. His stage fright actually wasn’t all that bad it was all a matter of context. He could overcome it. He’d gotten over comparing his voice to Jongdae’s in the recording studio. Listing to his own over and over when he was actually trying was a big confidence booster; he actually wasn’t half bad, or at least not as bad as he thought he was. They sounded good together. He could give this a shot even with the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Jongdae’s enthusiasm was catchy and he was going to latch onto it and hope for the best.

Jongdae gave him flick to the forehead. “What was that for!!”

“I could tell you were overthinking all of this. Get used to singing with me, that’s step one. Our songs, other songs, anything. We just need to sing in front of people for a while.” Jongdae flashed him a grin, as if he hadn’t just given Chanyeol a huge red mark on his forehead. Jongdae’s enthusiasm really was contagious.

“Please never do that again,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “But I’ll agree to that.”

“Excellent, I have a few ideas as to how to get started.” Jongdae busied himself with his phone. He didn’t explain any further which make Chanyeol a little apprehensive but if he didn’t have to plan anything it was all the better.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Jongdae said, “step one is just practicing in our rooms. Obviously we’d have to do that anyway, but it’s not like we’re going to jump on the stage this second and perform. We can practice whenever, I’ll even help you with your orchestra practice after if you listen to me sing.”

Chanyeol let out a deep breath. “Deal,” he said, flashing Jongdae an uncertain smile before finally digging into his lunch.

 

–

  


“Ok now that we finished practice for tonight, you’re listening to my entire concert piece in exchange for getting me to do this.” Chanyeol said with glee and grabbed Jongdae’s arm, dragging him towards his own room.

“Chanyeol why are you laughing. Wait, stop pulling me and tell me what you’re going to be doing. Chanyeol!” Jongdae was trying and failing to throw Chanyeol off. He’d already agreed to this so there was no getting out, especially not after that practice.

Practicing together was interesting. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad. What it _was_ was exhausting and irritating. It was like navigating a field of landmines in that the landmines were things they found the need to nag each other about; there was nothing relaxing about it. _Is this really going to be okay?_ Chanyeol thought as he kept a strong grip on Jongdae’s arm as he searched for his key.

“That was never part of the bargain,” Jongdae yelped, struggling to break free. Chanyeol’s arms were far stronger and there was no escaping his grip.

“Yes it was, we made a deal so stop whining. Besides, you’re insufferable and I need to take it out somehow and I felt like this was the best method. It’s a bonus that you actually know the finer points of music so you can actually listen and give constructive commentary,” he said cheerfully.

“I have no idea about anything to do with cymbals. They’re just noise as far as I’m concerned.”

“I’m talking about the marimba, it’s like a wooden piano with sticks. You can understand that, right? Your persuasiveness got me to do what you wanted so it’s my turn now.” Just like that they were inside and Chanyeol deposited Jongdae on his couch, dropping a pillow on his lap as if it would serve to keep him there.

“You love me and my persuasiveness. Anyway, I’ll listen since you kindly dragged me all the way here. I do know that you’re not actually bad at this so I suppose it’s fine.”

Chanyeol grumbled as he got everything ready, “I do not…and thanks, I guess?”

“Sure, sure whatever. Now show me what you can do with all of this wood.” His sly smile did not escape Chanyeol’s notice but he would not dignify that comment with a ‘that’s what she said’ joke no matter how much he really wanted to.

“One last thing,” Jongdae added, “Am I going to need earplugs, because I don’t have any?”

“You know what a marimba sounds like Jongdae stop being an ass. If you’re nice I might listen to your final selections too. Except the German opera.”

“But the German opera is my favourite,” he pouted. “But I’m so glad you said so, I’ll make it extra special.”

“Can’t wait. Now shut up and let me play.” Chanyeol set up his sheet music and took his four mallets in hand. He played a scale for Jongdae’s sake before he got started, counting himself in.

Jongdae listened perfectly and didn’t say another word save for a useful comment here and there. Chanyeol soon stopped paying attention, focusing solely on the music. This was how things were supposed to be with their project, they just needed to get there. He certainly hoped so. Even with all of these thoughts in his head, he flew through the piece. He’d played it a hundred times but channeling his worries through music always seemed to make things better

Jongdae looked a little impressed and Chanyeol counted that as a big win for himself. “I can’t really say much more, but, like I said before, I’m kind of glad you don’t suck,” Jongdae managed to say afterwards. He really couldn’t remove the smile from his voice which only served to fuel Chanyeol’s ego even further.

“Is that a complement?” Chanyeol smiled.

“Maybe, I’m still thinking about it.”

“You don’t suck either if it means anything, ” Chanyeol said, hoping he was conveying the same message. Jongdae more than didn’t suck and Chanyeol had already said as much but he’d say it again and again if necessary. “If you sounded like a dying cat I’d have strangled you during the first week.” He flashed a toothy grin at Jongdae, who laughed.

“I’d do the same to you. I guess we lucked out here or one of us would be dead and the other in jail.”

“Terrible really, I could do without jail.”

Jongdae cackled and picked up the cymbals lying around. “Might as well help,” he said with a devious grin. He crashed them together and the result was ear splitting. Chanyeol leapt over the furniture to wrestle them from him as Jongdae laughed his ass off, trying to kick away Chanyeol’s gangly limbs.

They went on for two hours, on top of the three they’d forced themselves to go through their song and brainstorm for the other two they had to write. They took turns listening to each other with Jongdae even listening to his most ridiculous miscellaneous percussion parts, especially the jazz. It was remarkable how different things went once they’d stopped working on something they felt they needed to perfect under pressure and moved to messing around with Chanyeol’s various percussion instruments. Chanyeol knew them like the back of his hand so the atmosphere was relaxed and fun as he taught Jongdae bits and pieces. Two months ago this would have been unthinkable.

Whatever friendship he had going with Jongdae was easy and fun when the pressure was gone and even when it was there, they managed to meet each other in the middle. They hadn’t known each other for long, but for some reason it felt like much longer. He suspected that had to do with having so many mutual friends. It was like talking with Baekhyun, but it was less ridiculous and more grounded, or Kyungsoo, but more animated. It was comfortable and interesting. He’s also learned that Junmyeon was right, he really was incredibly kind. Between all of their messing around he was being really considerate. He’d been missing out.

He bid him a cheery goodnight as they separated and yelled it through the wall for good measure. He had an extra thought and pulled out his phone.

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

 

_yeol: you know_

_yeol: …is typing_

_yeol: im glad we ended up working together_

_yeol: imagine if we continued like before?_

 

_–_

 

He was typing before thinking about what he was actually trying to say. It was probably embarrassing but he was too tired to care. He was tired and he felt sappy.

 

–

 

_jongdae: lmao same_

_jongdae: i didn’t expect this, even with all of our mutual friends yelling at us_

_jongdae: or at least in my case I have no idea what they said to you_

_jongdae: we’re loud as fuck im surprised no one came to stop us_

 

_yeol: they would have tried before now if they could, i think they just accepted us_

_yeol: rest assured, i wasn’t even allowed to complain by the end of it_

 

_jongdae: i mean the only ones complaining were ourselves about each other_

 

_yeol: true_

 

_jongdae: plus if we’re talking loud and loud we’re both friends with Baekhyun_

_jongdae: or more than friends ;)_

 

_yeol: do not_

 

_jongdae: what’s a few brojobs between friends?_

 

_yeol: funny enough that’s how it started_

 

_jongdae: yes i am aware_

 

_yeol: how_

 

_jongdae: “hey dae i met this tall guy from the next dorm, he’s hella cute and he’s in music. Also i might have sucked his dick, but only as bros. We’re not like that…yet.”_

 

_yeol: that bastard_

_yeol: ill have you know that he’s the one who started calling them that_

 

_jongdae: do not need to know_

 

_yeol: no more story time_

 

_jongdae: fine by me, anyway i have morning class so g’night_

 

_yeol: night!_

 

–

 

Chanyeol was towelling his hair dry after the long shower he’d taken upon coming home from the gym to relax. He’d once again tried to outdo himself as he worked with Sehun and knew he’d be sore the next day. He was making his way to his dresser when he heard a knock at the door.

Looking at the space between himself and the dresser there was no way he’d make it there and back quickly enough without tripping, so he decided to just answer the door in his towel. It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide and maybe it would make whoever it was go away faster. Hopefully, whoever it was would at least be impressed by all of his hard work at the gym before they left. There was only one way to find out, so he swung open the door.

It was Jongdae. Jongdae froze for a moment before collecting himself. “Is this how you greet all guests or am I just special?” he said, looking up and then down. Chanyeol felt a little self-conscious under his gaze.

“Didn’t have time to change,” he explained, now wishing that he had. He kept a firm grip on the towel which made it impossible to cross his arms to hide his chest.

Jongdae cocked an eyebrow, “You sure you weren’t showing off?”

Chanyeol laughed, “Maybe a little. People can see my arms, but I can’t exactly walk around shirtless. What’s the point of having abs if you can’t show them to people?”

“Hiding them makes the rest of us feel better, that’s why.”

“Jealous much?” Chanyeol smirked.

“Not really,” Jongdae responded, but very poorly hiding the fact that he was still looking.

Chanyeol laughed, “If you say so.”

Jongdae jabbed him in the stomach, breaking the moment. “Get your giant pecs and fancy abs out of my face and get dressed, we’re going to practice. I have an odd feeling we’re going to get interrupted, it’s been far too quiet lately.”

Chanyeol rubbed his stomach, giving Jongdae an apprehensive look. Jongdae was right though, it had been at least a week and a half since anyone had come to their rooms. They both had the best rooms for hanging out because the building’s rules were incredibly lax. Still…”Don’t say that,” Chanyeol hissed, “you might have summoned them. Quick, knock on some wood or something.”

Jongdae snorted, “What, do you think Baekhyun will appear if we say his name three times?”

“It’s Baekhyun, anything is possible. For example, I said his name once, right next to his ear, and he came.” Chanyeol said with a grin.

It took a moment for Jongdae to process what Chanyeol had just said before he shoved him in the chest with full force. “You’re disgusting, you and Baekhyun. It never ends.”

“Did I sense my name being called?” Baekhyun was making his way down the hall looking very much at home.

“No,” they both said in unison, Chanyeol leaning out of his apartment to get a good view of the hall.

“Wow you both are getting closer fast, that was pretty in sync. And…” he looked at Chanyeol, who remembered he was still wearing only a towel, “you’re already naked. Amazing. You work quick Jongdae, I’m impressed. It took me weeks to get that far.”

“Shut up Baek, no one asked you to come here. Go home.”

“So the couple wants some time alone I take it? It’s a shame, all the food Minseok and Kyungsoo brought will go to waste. He’s carrying it up with Junmyeon. I also called Jongin to join in because he seemed like he needed a little fun.” Chanyeol very much wanted to smack the look off of Baekhyun’s face and it looked like Jongdae wanted to do the same. He was acting like they were some sort of charity case.

“We’re not dating and you can’t just invite a hoard of people to my house!” Jongdae shouted at Baekhyun, putting his hands on his shoulders and shaking him. “How many times do I have to tell you! It’s Tuesday and I have homework.”

“As do we all, but company and food are important for mental health.” Baekhyun gently removed Jongdae’s hands from his shoulders and walked over to where Minseok was carrying an armful of extra large pizzas. Chanyeol felt his mouth water just looking at them, so he couldn’t bring himself to be mad at Baekhyun for too long. He was shuffling in his slippers towards the smell.

 

“Go get changed,” Jongdae told him, “you can keep your abs to yourself tonight. I’ll go get everything set up. There’s no way we’re all going to fit in your room so just bring whatever beer and snacks you have lying around and we’ll call it even.”

Chanyeol nodded and went back inside. A few minutes later he emerged with still wet hair, several bottles of beer, a bag of doritos, and his guitar. He kicked the door in hopes someone would open it, not having any hands to open it with. He was met with Kyungsoo’s wide eyed stare which was followed by a warm smile.

“Hey Soo.”

“Hey yourself,” he responded. He gave Chanyeol a contemplative look and walked forward so Chanyeol was forced to back up further into the hallway. Kyungsoo slowly shut the door behind himself. Confused, chanyeol readjusted his load so he could pay attention to whatever Kyungsoo planned to tell him.

“I was just curious,” Kyungsoo started hesitantly, “what exactly are you doing with Jongdae?”

Chanyeol cocked his head, “I don’t know what you mean, we’re working on a group project. He’s just easier to get along with than I thought.” He shrugged. After a thought he added, “I guess you could say we’re friends now, we have a lot in common.”

“He hasn’t shut up about you since you left,” Kyungsoo cut in.

“Really?” Chanyeol could feel his eyebrows shoot up.

“Yeah, we got on the topic of your project and it’s been nothing but praise.”

Chanyeol’s voice was laced with doubt. “We do nothing but argue when it comes to the project.”

“I…see, I just thought I’d let you know. I believe you, but you might want to be prepared for questions from the others. He talks about you outside of all that too, since you spend so much time together.”

“We’re _friends._ We have so many mutual friends it makes sense we get along. Why is everyone making it so _weird_?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No idea. Forget about that for a minute, we’re playing Uno later and you’re not getting out of it.”

“Oh come on, not again. I hate losing and you somehow manage to win every time. I’ll handle the rest but please spare me the humiliation.”

“No, it’s fun watching you lose. I’ll make you more tarts if you play.”

“Deal.”

Once Chanyeol was in the room properly, everyone stared at him. He felt like he was about to be subjected to some sort of interrogation. The only people acting normally were Jongdae and Kyungsoo.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaimed causing Chanyeol to groan on reflex, “Jongdae has been telling us more about your little project so we have kindly offered to be your first live audience.” Chanyeol surveyed the room. No one else gave any indication that they were aware of this plan.

“How about no,” Chanyeol said opening a box of pizza.

“No pizza until you sing.” Baekhyun slammed the lid of the box down before Chanyeol could reach inside.

Jongdae opened his mouth, “That’s completely unfair, we’re not even prepared to perform.”

“We paid for the pizza,” Minseok pointed out with a grin.

“And I brought the beer,” Chanyeol said, holding up the bottles. “We’re even.”

“You did bring your guitar,” Junmyeon said taking a sip of soda. He was probably driving.

Jongdae gave Chanyeol one of those _“what the fuck were you thinking”_ looks and Chanyeol had the grace to look guilty. “Guess we’re performing,” he said through gritted teeth. If they kept this going it would only get worse.

The room erupted into cheers. “But,” Jongdae said, silencing them, “Baekhyun gets to play the piano part. The keyboard is sitting right there. It’s not hard to play so have at it.” Jongdae stared at Baekhyun so hard that he immediately sat on the bench without another word and started stretching his hands.

Chanyeol plucked a few notes on the guitar to double check the tuning, adjusted it a bit, and then counted them in. Jongdae’s verse was first so he had time to get ready for his own. Having to focus and keep careful track of the dynamics that were important to the song’s effect made it easy to ignore their audience. Jongdae’s clear voice rang through the room and Chanyeol just had to follow along.

Baekhyun, to his credit, managed to keep up with them, even if he’d gone with a more simplified version of the melody and played mostly chords otherwise. He wasn’t studying the instrument for no reason.

When it finally came to his turn he could feel himself going red as he opened his mouth and started to sing. He was too quiet he realized immediately and spared a glance towards Jongdae who gave an encouraging smile. He felt a little more confident after that, and put more into his singing. Singing together was much easier and much more fun, so the rest of the song went smoothly and he felt himself relax the more he sang.

He struggled not to laugh when Baekhyun made a loud mistake during the bridge but they managed to get through just fine. By the time they were done he was out of breath. It was only a little over three and a half minutes, far shorter than the long sessions he’d played at the coffee shop or during lessons with his collection of students, but he put enough into it to count for far more than that. He might pass out after the actual thing.

Their small collection of friends, who had all been watching them with wide eyes, erupted into cheers.

“It’s still really rough,” Chanyeol said shyly.

Junmyeon laughed, “Rough? What you gave me for the project was rough and even that was good, this was fantastic.”

Minseok nodded enthusiastically and launched into a full on explanation as to what he liked about each part. Jongdae paid more attention to this than Chanyeol did. He was still a little giddy and just sat back on Jongdae’s bed, plucking notes absentmindedly until he looked across the room to find Kyungsoo was beaming at him. He didn’t need words to know what he thought. It made him feel a whole lot better though.

“Yeol, your voice is great! I think this is the first time I’ve heard you sing like this,” Jongin said enthusiastically. He looked like an eager puppy.

“He’s right,” Baekhyun said. “You were amazing, I couldn’t believe it. Of course, you’re not at my level, but this was a lot better than what you’ve been doing before now.” Chanyeol reached out to kick him but Baekhyun dodged. He might have been right about his singing ability–Baekhyun was objectively good–but hearing that from him made him really happy.

“Yeah well, I’m working on it. You should probably work on your skills too since you have as solo as well.”

Baekhyun went red and Chanyeol had achieved what he wanted to. He turned about face, grabbed about 5 slices of pizza and sat on the floor beside Kyungsoo. He immediately regretted it when Kyungsoo pulled out his well-used pack of Uno cards. Jongin had apparently been roped into playing as well.

Somewhere into the second round he heard Jongdae being particularly loud about something, it sounded like it had something to do with pop songs, and he looked over to see what it was.

“Pay attention,” Kyungsoo hissed, and Chanyeol looked back to his hand full of cards. There was no way he was winning this round. He’d much rather be part of whatever conversation was happening on the other side of the room. Eventually he’d missed enough turns that he was forcibly removed from the game. “If you’re going to keep looking at him every time he says something loud, you might as well just go over there. It’s not a winning streak if the players aren’t even trying,” Kyungsoo said, collecting his cards. Jongin looked relieved.

Now that he was in a group of people and no longer alone with him, Chanyeol was becoming aware of how much he watched Jongdae. It was a little unnerving when it was hard to pay attention to anyone else. Spending so much time together made Chanyeol was aware of Jongdae’s quirks but it was odd seeing them come out when talking to others, especially when he hadn’t paid them any attention before recently. He laughed easily but you could tell it was from the heart, he liked games and would play along with almost anything, he gave the best reactions, he whined but only when he felt wronged…in essence, Chanyeol spent way too much time with him. He also found he didn’t mind that at all.

 

–

 

“Why is that look on your face, I don’t like it when that look is on your face,” Chanyeol said, mild panic in his voice.

Kyungsoo was staring at Chanyeol with a contemplative expression that could mean literally anything and thus caused him a great deal of anxiety.

“We need people for Thursday night entertainment at the coffee shop, I signed you and Jongdae up because I have a test on Friday.” Kyungsoo said, entirely in as he strode ahead of Chanyeol.

“You traitor Kyungsoo, that’s our thing and you know it.”

“I am aware but we didn’t have anyone else. Minseok was freaking out. He washed the entire place twice. It took him hours, please don’t make him do it again.”

Chanyeol slouched his shoulders, nearly causing his backpack to fall off. “What if I say no?”

“Not an option. Jongdae already agreed anyway, so I hope you both can agree on a set.”

“Then why did you even bother asking me? You could have just told me that. There’s a slight problem to your plan: we can barely agree on…ok we’re getting better at that but I still don’t want to do it.

“You need practice singing live, but for real. Just sing with him, you’re fine with singing in your room and in front of us, it’s the next step.” Kyungsoo was great at reminding him of things he really didn’t want to do. He gave him so many hard pills to swallow that Chanyeol wondered where he kept them all.

“How am I going to do that next to Jongdae? He’s amazing, even your eyes sparkle when you listen to him.” Regular songs, ones he didn’t write, were going to come off differently, there was no getting around that.

“Your problem, not mine. You just need confidence. Why don’t you try the piano for once? You’re good at that.” Kyungsoo had a point. He could just sing his sad song, the one he sang when he was feeling kind of moody. That would probably be fine.

Kyungsoo separated from Chanyeol to head over to his own apartment, “Good luck with the setlist!”

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

 

_yeol: what did you sign us up for???1!!!_

 

_jongdae: it’s time we perform it_

_jongdae: you can do it fine enough_

 

_yeol: we cant play it it’s supposed to stay under wraps_

_yeol: playing it in front of just friends was different_

_yeol: plus they want us to do other songs_

 

_jongdae: oh_

 

_yeol: yeah oh_

 

_jongdae: we’ll just have to figure out other songs no biggie_

 

_yeol: i don’t want to do this_

_yeol: i cant believe this happened_

_yeol: you’re singing the most_

 

_jongdae: i don’t have a problem with that_

_jongdae: but you have to sing a little_

 

_yeol: i said i’d play piano_

 

_jongdae: i didn’t know you played piano_

 

_yeol: ofc i do_

_yeol: anyway next practice we also figure this out_

_yeol: im gonna kill kyungsoo_

 

_jongdae: please dont_

_jongdae: we can’t lose another sensible friend_

 

_yeol: we can always find another one_

 

–

  


“Ok so who do you like?” Chanyeol asked looking up at Jongdae. “We’re not going to get anywhere if I have no idea what kind of music you want to sing.” He had a notebook in front of him and a website that provided the chords for songs.

“You played Billionaire for Kyungsoo right?”

Chanyeol nodded. “Yeah it’s kind of our thing.”

“You know any other Bruno Mars?” Jongdae asked, Chanyeol was pleasantly surprised.

“As a matter of fact I do, I can probably get Just the Way You Are down in time, it’ll probably work better on piano but it’s definitely doable.”

“Great because we’re singing it together,” Jongdae announced.

Chanyeol blanched. “What?”

“You heard me.”

The next song they’d be singing together was a Queen song, which was Chanyeol’s choice. He was pretty sure it’d suit Jongdae’s vocals anyway and if he was going to do this he wanted to bring down the house, he’d even bring his electric guitar for it.

After that they haggled a lot, Chanyeol having to choose between a few songs to sing by himself including “All of Me” and “Creep” because apparently that was something he had to do on top of play for Jongdae when it was his turn. Jongdae also convinced him to sing the cover he posted of “One more time, one more chance,” even though it was in Japanese.

“Now we need a group name,” Jongdae said, drawing a line on their makeshift setlist.

“What do you mean a ‘group name?’ It’s just the two of us sitting in a coffee shop with an ancient, out of tune piano and my guitar.”

“It makes it more fun.” Jongdae’s eyes were sparkling and Chanyeol found it very difficult to refuse him when he got like this. “If you can’t think of something I will,” he sang. Chanyeol didn’t like the sound of that but they got right to practicing before they did homework and inevitably crashed on Jongdae’s bed because Chanyeol was too lazy to walk back.

 

–

 

Chanyeol showed up to the familiar coffee shop grumpy and almost late. He had planned to show up in his standard jeans and hoodie but apparently that wasn’t good enough so Baekhyun came over and forced him into a sports jacket and his good jeans. It wasn’t all that much of a difference in theory, but with his hair up he didn’t need Baekhyun to tell him he looked good. Of only he wanted the attention.

Jongdae was already there, standing at the counter talking to Minseok. He was wearing a nice blue sweater with a button down underneath and looked far more put together than Chanyeol had seen him in a while. It was a nice change and the colour suited him.

“Chanyeol!” he called when he saw him. Chanyeol gave a salute in response and walked over to the counter, avoiding hitting any of the tables with all of his gear.

Minseok handed him a cup of water, “I figured coffee would be bad for your nerves and your voice,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol said, downing the entire cup and handing it back to him.

“We should probably get set up,” Jongdae said, moving towards the slightly raised platform in the corner that served as a stage.

On the sage, if it could even be called that, a battered upright piano sat off to one side with one rickety bench covered by faded green leather in front of it. Two ancient looking microphones were set up for them. Two chairs occupied the rest of the small space. Chanyeol dropped his guitar case off to the side and started tuning it in advance.

Jongdae was going on about what they were singing and in which order and what to keep in mind while they sang. Chanyeol had heard it all before so he chose to ignore it, focusing on his task. The sound of Jongdae’s voice was, however, soothing as people began to walk in and mill about. Chanyeol recognized a number of familiar faces and kept his gaze on either his guitar or Jongdae.

“You okay,” Jongdae asked suddenly.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m just a little nervous,” he said honestly. He caught Jongin’s eye, who beamed at him. Chanyeol gave him a weak smile and went back to looking at Jongdae, feeling a little sick. He had zero issues with any of the other songs, he was actually looking forward to singing with Jongdae. Every time they practiced they improved to the point where singing together was easy and comfortable. It was his own song that he was anxious about.

“Don’t worry about it, this is casual.  Minseok also said we could stay in the break room until later if we wanted.”

“Nah, you’re right.”

He could feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on him. He knew his friend was keeping watch on them and he also knew why but he chose to ignore him. He didn’t have time for any of that nonsense. He wasn’t going to fuck this up when it was already a little fucked.

Kyungsoo mouthed, “Good luck.” Before Chanyeol had the chance to look away. He nodded and turned back to Jongdae.

When the time came he turned to Jongdae, “Ready?”

“More than you are, let’s get to it,” Jongdae said making his way to the stage.

They did just that. It didn’t go perfectly. The piano was out of tune, Jongdae forgot the lyrics once but so did Chanyeol. No one really minded any of those things though. The place was packed but people were mostly eating or drinking and conversing over their playing. Some simply listened and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Chanyeol was sure he and Jongdae enjoyed it the most.

 

–

 

After getting out of Junmyeon’s car, Jongdae and Chanyeol continued their buoyant mood by singing at the top of their lungs on their way to their apartments. It was in true form to their already terrible reputation in the building but Chanyeol didn’t care. It didn’t even matter that he was out of tune and kept gasping for breath because he was laughing between verses. Jongdae was attempting ridiculous ad-libs to the song and failing miserably. The way none of them matched the song in anyway was incredibly amusing.

By the time they were at their doors Chanyeol felt exhaustion wash over him and he wished Jongdae a happy goodbye before dragging himself to his own apartment, Jongdae laughing at his unsteady gait. He shot him the finger before fishing for his keys, opening the door, and falling down on his bed.

He made quick work of his pants, t-shirt, and jacket and decided he only really needed boxers to sleep. Pulling the cover’s over himself he snatched up his phone, which he had placed on his nightstand after taking it out of his pocket.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

 

_KSoo: You did great._

_KSoo: I don’t think I’ve seen the audience so engaged._

_KSoo: I’m a little jealous._

 

_yeol: nah_

_yeol: they’re just used to our greatness_

_yeol: this was freshness alone_

 

_KSoo: I knew there was a reason I tolerated you._

 

_yeol: I’m so touched to have your approval_

 

_KSoo: Don’t push it._

_KSoo: There’s one thing I did want to mention._

_KSoo: I know you don’t like it when anyone brings it up but…_

_KSoo: If you don’t want anyone to think you’re not falling for Jongdae you might not want to stare at him like he’s the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen._

 

_yeol: I what_

_yeol: I do not_

_yeol: I had to stare at him to sing_

 

_KSoo: We just look at each other to sing._

_KSoo: You had sparkles in your eyes whenever you looked at him._

_KSoo: It was really cute actually. You looked happy_

 

_yeol: did u just call me cute_

 

_KSoo: I wouldn’t if it wasn’t true._

 

_yeol: this is kind of creeping me out ngl_

_yeol: but you’re right I am happy_

 

_KSoo: Don’t flip out on me, but maybe think about it._

 

_yeol: think about what_

 

_KSoo: You know exactly what._

_KSoo: There hasn’t been any “what” since Baekhyun._

 

_Yeol: woah woah woah WHAT_

 

_KSoo: Come on Chanyeol, you’re not that obtuse. It’s not like he’s bad for you. He’s actually the best person you’ve ever been kind of interested in._

_KSoo: I know you had your noise thing._

_KSoo: But please think about it._

 

_yeol: fuck_

_yeol: i didn;t want this_

_yeol: *want to think about it this late, why did you do this_

_yeol: what do i do now_

_yeol: the baekhyun thing just sort of happened_

_yeol: how do i not fuck this up i was fine letting it sit as is_

_yeol: i cant STOP thinking about it now_

 

_KSoo: Calm down._

_Ksoo: it’s 3am so maybe just don’t think about it?_

_Ksoo: You’ll figure it out._

_Ksoo: If makes you feel better, I don’t think he hates you._

_Ksoo: He was looking at you the same way._

 

_–_

 

Chanyeol put his phone down and clutched at his chest. He one hundred percent could not handle any more of that conversation. His heart was starting to race out of anxiety and something he still refused to name because he still couldn’t handle it. Kyungsoo had a way of cutting straight to the point when Chanyeol was deliberately avoiding it. He knew all of this stuff but moving forward…it wasn’t time for that. He certainly wasn’t ready.

He now had to deal with the other messages lighting up his phone. His eyes were starting to droop and, knowing Sehun’s message was going to be stupid, he focused on Baekhyun and Jongdae’s which were next on the screen.

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: baek**

 

_baek: that was gay as fuck dude_

_baek: u never looked at me like that_

_baek: go for it man i believe in you_

_baek: if u hurt him i will end u_

 

_yeol: shut up baekhyun_

 

_baek: i will help you for a small price_

 

_yeol: don’t want your help just want sleep and amnesia_

_yeol: im not “going” for anything_

_yeol: and you’ve “helped” enough_

 

_baek: i meant what i said about ending you_

 

_yeol: can’t u read_

_yeol: plus Kyungsoo might do it first, your loss_

 

_baek: dammit…oh well it’ll be a more painful end_

 

_–_

 

So Baekhyun was in on this too. The rest of them probably were as well in a giant conspiracy to get him laid or whatever. Was Jongdae in on this? He doubted it. Either way he was going to ignore everything for now. The last message was from Jongdae and, after the previous conversations, his heart was racing a little as he opened it. His heart was a traitor.

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

 

_jongdae: that was great_

_jongdae: more than great_

_jongdae: i havent had that much fun in forever_

 

_yeol: same ^^_

 

_jongdae: we should do it again_

 

_yeol: no we should not_

 

_jongdae: I’m sure Kyungsoo wouldn’t mind_

 

_yeol: no_

 

_jongdae: I will drag you there, I know the owner_

 

_yeol:…maybe_

 

_jongdae: yay_

_jongdae: i think you’re almost ready for the concert_

_jongdae: that’s actually why I suggested more_

_jongdae: we still have those other songs to do_

 

_yeol: oh shit fuck you’re right_

_yeol: ok it’s a deal_

 

_jongdae: ok goodnight!_

  


Rather than answer Chanyeol pounded the wall and shouted “Goodnight!” He got a soft pound in response. That was easier than he’d thought it would be. He had no reason to be nervous, things were just like they were before. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo could shove it for trying to shake the boat.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 

–

 

It was Monday evening and Chanyeol was standing outside Jongdae’s room. They hadn’t spoken since the cafe but for some reason it felt like longer. For now though it seemed like Jongdae wasn’t home and in lieu of walking a few metres more to his own room he sat down on the carpet in the hall and started humming one of the new melodies, trying to think of things to go with them.

“Chanyeol. Chanyeol!” Jongdae was shaking him awake. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep.

Chanyeol looked around, groggy. “What time it is?”

“Nine?” Jongdae answered, looking at him with concern. “Why are you sitting out in the hall?”

“OH! I forgot, I wanted to tell you about the second song!” Chanyeol grabbed onto Jongdae’s arm, who pulled him up. Chanyeol didn’t let go and didn’t let Jongdae shake him off.  “The song, I found one that I was initially going to just rap to but then I had another idea and I think it’ll be perfect.”

Next they were both sitting in Chanyeol’s room as he played a hip-hop song that he’d rapped to. It had a vocal part but he hadn’t sung it and had left it instrumental

Jongdae was looking at him skeptically, “You want me to rap?”

“What no, that’s absurd?” Chanyeol said, waving him off.

“Excuse you, I can rap.”

“Shut up Jongdae and let me explain. I know you’re not that bad, I’m just saying we do a rap song with vocals. I rap, you sing, we make it work. It goes with my style and I don’t want the songs to be the same.”

“Ok fair, I like singing more than rapping anyway. So long as I get a say in the lyrics I’m fine with that.”

“We’ll figure that out later,” Chanyeol said happily.

“And what about the third song?” Jongdae asked with a hand on his hip. He was looming over Chanyeol, staring at the screen. Chanyeol looked up at him for a beat too long before realizing what he was doing and turning back to the computer.

Chanyeol promptly played a song he had a lot of fun writing. He’d been a little inspired and singing this was fun when you needed something to belt out.

“Seriously, a rock ballad Chanyeol?” Jongdae’s lip was twitching a little. He didn’t completely disapprove. It was the kind of song you sang while drunk at a party, the kind of song that could be solemn but also noble and in parts fun. It was a song that worked for both of their voices.

“Yeah, I thought you might like it. I have to rearrange the track a bit since it sounds a little better like this.” He played the track with a few variations and Jongdae nodded.

“Ok you’re right it does, but can _you_ sing to it,” Jongdae asked him. The vocals were pretty demanding and Chanyeol sounded a little strained on the demo.

“Of course, remember when we did that thing through the wall, I was singing the lower harmonies. I dunno if you noticed.”

Jongdae looked thoughtful, “Now that you mention it, you did. That was also a lot of fun. Ok this should work. I’m fine with this being the third song. We’ve listened to so many of your tracks but these two are probably the best. They were on my short list anyway.”

Chanyeol beamed and started compiling all of the files, humming while he did so. Jongdae laughed. “What?”

“You’re just really amusing.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“That’s fine,” Jongdae said, still smiling.

Chanyeol gave him an odd look. “Weird. Okay so what if we made our theme noise or loudness. That’s what we do best after all.”

“It’s completely not subtle in the slightest, I like it. That first song was basically how we ended up like this.”

Chanyeol froze. “No.”

“Chanyeol you have to be kidding me, I didn’t realize at first but it was pretty obvious once you looked at it.” Minseok even pointed out when we played it for everyone.

“I mean, sure?”

“He’re, let’s look at what you have down for the other songs. Your original lyrics.” Jongdae slid onto the sofa and Chanyeol followed, sitting next to him, looking over his shoulder at the screen. Jongdae’s arm was pressing against Chanyeols, the warmth sending chills down his spine. He wasn’t even paying attention to the lyrics he’d brought over for Jongdae to read.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, at least for Chanyeol. He felt too warm and too aware of Jongdae so close to him, as he’d been earlier. He refused to glance over at him. He couldn’t keep what the others had said out of his thoughts.

Jongdae started belting out a few nonsense lyrics that somehow worked with the melody and the theme. They didn’t work at all and Chanyeol snapped out of whatever daze he was in to laugh at Jongdae, who defended his ridiculous lyrics about the “silence of a rapper who knows no bounds, he lives and he breathes but ain’t got no sounds.”

“What are you even saying?” Chanyeol shoved Jongdae’s shoulder.

Jongdae pushed him away and pointed at the screen. “It works man, look at what you have here. I can’t believe you don’t think it’s brilliant. You should just let me write the rap.” Jongdae grinned up at Chanyeol. Chanyeol tried to pretend his stomach didn’t flip.

Rather than go to his desktop he connected his mini keyboard to his laptop before them on the coffee table. Jongdae kept moving closer, leaning over him to see the screen, occasionally making notes. Whenever they laughed they both shook and shoved but ended up right where they started.

“Earth to Chanyeol,” Jongdae said, “If you’re going to be a rapper you need to be a little faster with words.” Chanyeol had been absent minded and his responses slow, he blushed a little before apologizing.

 _He is so cute_ , was all Chanyeol could think at the moment. It was overwhelming. How could he have not thought this before. “I can be plenty fast, I’m just a little tired.”

“Should we stop then? I wanted to get a little bit done before bed.”

“No, no, maybe we should start with the rock ballad.”

“Ok, so what were you going for with that. Bohemian Rhapsody style or something else?” Was it Chanyeol’s imagination or did Jongdae lean in closer. “What you have here is good I guess but it should be some sort of protest maybe or lament…I have no idea. What did you feel like yelling when you were mad at me?”

“I…can’t remember.” Chanyeol said, not looking at Jongdae.

“I’m pretty sure it was along the lines of fuck you.”

Chanyeol laughed, “No, I wouldn’t have done that. Hey! I’m kidding. It was like my music can’t be silenced, so shut up and stop making your noise I want to be heard.”

“We can definitely turn that into lyrics! It sounds like some kind of rebel song, even though it was more rebellion against each other. No one has to know that though.”

“Guess we have progress.”

“I want to get started right away, you don’t mind if I start going with this song right? I have a lot of ideas I want to try out.” Jongdae was scribbling things down and Chanyeol leaned in to read what he was writing.

Chanyeol turned away to yawn and wound up face to face with Jongdae, meeting his eyes and glancing down at his lips before going back up.“Right…yeah definitely.” he said, agreeing with Jongdae.

Jongdae stared at him for a moment longer and turned back towards the page. Neither of them said anything and there was a weird tension in the air combined with the ever present awareness. His body had unconsciously moved closer to Jongdae’s until his arm was behind his back and his head was nearly resting on his shoulder. He moved away when Jongdae reached to type something.

Jongdae turned to him, “Do you think it would sound better with echoed responses, one voice saying something and the other one following along?” he said, looking at Chanyeol intently. “I think that would help it come together.”

Chanyeol snapped as he expected Jongdae wanted to. “Yeah I think that’s great. A great idea. Just one more thing, can I…? He leaned in. Jongdae’s eyes went wide but only for a moment, he made no move to stop him and his eyes sparkled. Between Jongdae’s enthusiasm, the giddiness of what they were doing, and, well, all of the pent up attraction he finally noticed Chanyeol broke. He caved and gave in. He tipped his head down, tilted it to the side, and kissed Jongdae full on the lips.

It wasn’t a long kiss, their mouths stayed closed, but it was a soft, uncertain one. It was full of questions Chanyeol wasn’t sure he wanted the answers to yet. His body knew what he wanted though and muscle memory pulled through.

He opened his eyes. Jongdae was looking at him with something Chanyeol couldn’t name.

“I–,” he began before pulling Jongdae up and pushing him towards the door.

“Chanyeol what are you doing, you can’t just make me leave after that!” Jongdae tried to stop him but ultimately allowed himself to be unceremoniously ushered out.

“Yes I can,” Chanyeol grunted.

Jongdae turned on him, “Just explain to me, please.”

“I don’t know how to explain. I’m so sorry. I just don’t know and I’m sorry and this is unfair but I’m confused and I don’t know. Just let me think maybe, I don’t know.” Chanyeol was rambling. He wanted to kiss Jongdae right there. The old him would have done it without question. The old him…

He pulled Jongdae forward and kissed him again. He didn’t regret it but that didn’t stop him from saying, “I’m sorry. I’ll think about this and we can talk. Just don’t…don’t…I don’t know but I’m sure you can guess.”

Jongdae nodded and seemed to understand. He turned and went to his own room.

What Chanyeol missed was Jongdae’s look of surprise, his look of uncertainty, and his look of happiness. He’d been waiting for that for a while and was willing to wait a little longer.

  


**MESSAGE: KSoo**

 

_yeol: iksisded  hIM_

 

_KSoo: What?_

 

_yeol: I kissed_

_yeol: Him_

 

_KSoo: Who? I can’t help if you don’t explain._

 

_yeol: Jongdae._

 

_KSoo: You kissed Jongdae._

 

_yeol: yes_

_yeol: stop saying it_

_yeol: havent kissed anyone in forever_

_yeol: why is it so…weird?_

 

_KSoo: Okay, so elaborate maybe?_

_KSoo: How did this happen?_

 

_yeol: he was so cute and we were SO CLOSE you have no idea i couldn’t handle it_

 

_KSoo: Is this a new thing?_

 

_yeol: no_

_yeol: but it just kinda clicked and i just kinda went with it_

 

_KSoo: You’re an idiot._

_KSoo: Don’t tell me you just left it at that._

 

_yeol: maybe_

_yeol:  couldn’t stop myself but then like_

_yeol: I couldn’t take it anymore_

 

_KSoo: You’re a moron Chanyeol._

 

_yeol: I knowwww but i can’t just go and say something_

_yeol: not now_

 

_KSoo: You will just go and you will explain your thoughts._

_KSoo: You have to work with him and you’re going to mope about this all week if you don’t._

 

_yeol: great, i feel like moping and being emotionally confused_

 

_KSoo: You just fixed things and now you’re going to do this without finding out how he feels._

 

_yeol: I know but listen_

_yeol: he’s so great, and funny and_

_yeol: his mouth was just there it’s so cute_

_yeol: I couldn’t stop myself_

_yeol: how could he possibly like me_

_yeol: you keep saying im a moron and i am_

_yeol: help meeeeeee_

 

_KSoo: …_

_KSoo: How did he react?_

 

_yeol: he didn’t stop me_

_yeol: he actually he just seemed surprised_

_yeol: i think_

_yeol: there might have been something else but i was panicking and couldnt figure it out_

_yeol: he didn’t stop me though so there is that_

_yeol: what if I ruined it?_

 

_KSoo: I can’t believe you just kicked him out without finding out what he thought._

 

_yeol: yep. Didn’t want to find out just yet, said i was sorry_

_yeol: gonna deal with this tomorrow_

_yeol: glad i got that off my chest, you’re a great friend_

 

_KSoo: I’m charging you for counselling starting next week._

_KSoo: Not that you listen to what I say. Or that I did anything._

_KSoo: Don’t do anything stupid._

 

–

 

When he got back to his apartment, Jongdae was pacing back and forth trying not to make any noise. He felt like screaming but that seemed like a bad idea considering the circumstances. Chanyeol had just up and left after kissing him for the first time. He’d been waiting for what felt like forever for something to finally happen; for Chanyeol to finally clue in and realize something but now that he had, Jongdae was just as frustrated as he’d been beforehand. He got two kisses before Chanyeol chickened out and it wasn’t enough, he had wants and needs that were driving him nuts. Pressing forward with Chanyeol like this was something he wasn’t sure he should do, but then, he hadn’t exactly pushed hard in the first place. Subtle was more his style. He pulled out his phone.

 

**MESSAGE: baekhyun**

 

_jongdae:  what do i do?_

_jongdae: what do i do?_

 

_baekhyun: can you explain?_

 

_jongdae: well_

_jongdae: you can probably believe this_

_jongdae: but chanyeol kissed me_

_jongdae: then left_

 

_baekhyun: actually i CAN believe that wow…that idiot_

 

_jongdae: I KNOW, he’s so dumb_

 

_baekhyun: that bastard not taking responsibility_

_baekhyun: i didn’t raise him like this_

_baekhyun: say the word and i will beat his ass_

_baekhyun: and not in the fun way_

 

_jongdae: wtf baek_

 

_baekhyun: sorry im just concerned for my best friend_

_baekhyun: and fragile his heart_

 

_jongdae: im not some weak hearted fool_

 

_baekhyun: you’re a soft boy dae_

 

_jongdae: please stop my heart is still racing_

_jongdae: i think he was just nervous_

 

_baekhyun: this is super cute, i love it_

_baekhyun: despite how he seems, Chanyeol is a sweet guy_

_baekhyun: he’s probs just embarrassed as fuck_

_baekhyun: it’s actually really cute, just do that devious thing of yours and he’ll eat it up_

 

_jongdae: …not going to comment, but you’re right since he went really fucking red_

_jongdae: I didn’t expect him to just do it after so long_

_jongdae: I was giving him some signs, he was literally attached to my hip_

_jongdae: and i could tell he was interested but not READY_

 

_baekhyun: was it at least a good kiss_

_baekhyun: i tried to teach him well_

_baekhyun: wait i taught you too_

 

_jongdae: what the fuck are you saying? i taught YOU_

_jongdae: you remember what my mouth is like right_

 

_baekhyun: ,,,yes_

 

_jongdae: good_

_jongdae: Chanyeol knew what he was doing at least even if he was shy_

 

_baekhyun: fuck i miss that_

_baekhyun: kiss me again jongdae, just once_

 

_jongdae: absolutely not_

_jongdae: back to my crisis_

_jongdae: it was more like a pec_

_jongdae: disappointing_

 

_baekhyun: let’s see if he’s a coward or not before you do anything_

 

_jongdae: i have to work with him still_

_jongdae: i hope this doesn’t ruin things_

_jongdae: I certainly wont let it_

 

_baekhyun: i’ll ruin him if he hurts my baby…ok no i wont he’s my best friend too_

_baekhyun: but i will intimidate him_

 

_jongdae: Im leaving_

 

_baekhyun: no no, i promise i’ll help_

_baekhyun: Kyungsoo will too, he seems exasperated atm_

 

_jongdae: I don’t know if i wanyt your help I’ll figure it out on my own_

_jongdae: I’m just glad i know he’s interested for sure_

 

_baekhyun: fine, do it yourself._

 

_jongdae: bye._

 

**–**

 

Chanyeol was extremely uncomfortable, the next time he went to Jongdae’s room to finish up their lyrics. Now that he’d had a good chunk of time to process the fact that he’d kissed Jongdae full on the mouth, unprompted, and then just kicked him out like that. It was both embarrassing and pretty rude, even with his endless apologies.

As soon as Jongdae opened the door he opened his mouth to apologize again. Jongdae spoke instead. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t. It’s fine, we’ll talk about it later. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get this done.” He didn’t look angry, he looked sympathetic, so Chanyeol followed him inside. Anxiety bubbled in his stomach.

Hundreds of thoughts flowed through Chanyeol’s mind as he tried to figure out what Jongdae was thinking and what to do next. Jongdae didn’t look irritated but he could be imagining things. If anything he looked a little frustrated, but Chanyeol didn’t know what he was frustrated at. It was most likely him but they had other things on their plate too. Jongdae had been singing afternoon, repeating all of the same lyrics over and over, swearing like a sailor whenever he messed up.

Chanyeol made the executive decision to pretend the kiss had never happened, no matter what it made him feel for the sake of his own sanity. Which was especially a lot of effort this close to Jongdae while also in Jongdae’s room. But he wasn’t going to think about it. They had work to do and he needed to focus. Jongdae had something else in mind.

“Chanyeol, I’m tired of beating around the bushes. Why did you kiss me?” Jongdae broke the silence between them. He was sitting on the other end of the sofa, staring at him intently. There was no escape. Chanyeol felt like a wild animal in a trap.

“W-what kind of question is that? I thought we, um, agreed to wait…I’m not…” Chanyeol avoided his eyes.

Jongdae sighed and put his hands to his face and took a deep breath. That was the wrong response but Jongdae also didn’t look angry or upset. “I just want to know and clear this up. It’s affecting how we work. I didn’t mind it at all, I just want to know. Please.”

“I dunno, I just sort of did it on instinct. It felt right at the time and I don’t exactly regret it.” Chanyeol was distinctly uncomfortable. He was caught between things he didn’t want to admit. Things he wasn’t ready to admit. His body was ahead of his mind and he wasn’t ready to accept it all yet.

“Just sort of did it?” Jongdae repeated slowly.

“Yeah, I mean…I guess I wanted to and then I did. Please don’t be mad I don’t know what I’m doing right now.” Chanyeol shifted uncomfortably, accidentally brushing against Jongdae’s leg and recoiling from the touch.

“Chanyeol, you literally kissed me on the mouth. Twice.”

“I kiss a lot of people on the mouth, I’m clingy. I barely slept that night and I did it in the moment as far as I know. It felt right at the time.”

“Uh huh. Okay.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just, if we were to do it again, would you be opposed?” Chanyeol blinked at the question. What was Jongdae even implying. Jongdae asked each question carefully and watched Chanyeol intently, as if he was waiting for something specific. Chanyeol wasn’t sure he could give it to him, not now, not when he couldn’t even let himself have it.

“I haven’t thought about it enough, and I’m not…I wasn’t ready to. I’m working on it.” He really hadn’t…until now. The feeling of Jongdae’s lips against his was soft and warm. Something about being around Jongdae was comforting but fun. This was just a new level of their relationship he’d been repressing thoughts of. Now they were all coming to the front. Memories of his times with Baekhyun came to him. This was different, but the core needs were there. He wanted to kiss Kim Jongdae but he also wanted more.

Jongdae’s expression fell before he picked it up again, turning it into something lighter. “If you say so. You can think about it some more if you want.”

Chanyeol swallowed. “I will,” he said seriously before returning to his laptop. He didn’t miss Jongdae’s look of happiness, but that might have just been Chanyeol’s hope speaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RELATIONSHIP NOTES: Trying to figure out Chanyeol's feelings gave me a headache, so I might rework some things because that first kiss was kind of tragic ngl. He's just emotionally confused and hasn't figured things out for himself completely. Throw in nosy, meddling friends and the fact that he never even considered something like this and it becomes even more frustrating.
> 
> It's all a little whatever, but I’m the end it's a romcom and they're all like that. Everything straightens out figuratively next chapter.
> 
> ** My Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** Writing Twitter [carpedaem](https://twitter.com/carpedaem)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a beta'd version of chapter 5. The story gets hella explicit from here on. 
> 
> I am so sorry it's taking so long, a lot of life things happened and I have horrible writer's block, I'm sorry. The last chapter is almost done.

It was now December and everyone was trapped in the neverending swirl of exams and final assignments that came with the end of the semester. Chanyeol was no exception. He thought it was a good opportunity to avoid Jongdae until he sorted through his feelings, but Jongdae was determined to be part of Chanyeol’s life whether he wanted him to be or not. Jongdae’s incessant nagging that they get all of the lyrics for their second two songs done before they recorded them in January to optimize practice times, forced them to spend just as much time together as they had before.

“We have the entire second semester,” Chanyeol moaned from Jongdae’s desk chair chair as he typed out yet another word into the online rhyming dictionary displayed on his laptop, “can’t we just rest for now and focus on exams.”

Jongdae didn’t look up from the couch, he was too busy scratching his head with his pencil and staring at the page before him, as if words would suddenly appear and the song would write itself. Chanyeol waited. After a long pause he said, looking up at Chanyeol, “What would you rather do, homework or this?”

“This  _ is _ homework. I just want to play the drums, I can’t sit still any more.” Chanyeol arched his back, linked his fingers, raised his arms above his head and stretched. There were a few satisfying cracks that underlined his point.

Jongdae whined every time Chanyeol brought up his drums and opened his mouth as expected, “No, please no.  _ Please _ ? Let’s just keep doing this.”

Chanyeol spun around to face Jongdae properly, his heart stuttered a little at the sight of Jongdae looking up at him through his bangs, hanging askew because he’d been running his fingers through them.  _ Was he… _ Jongdae was definitely pouting and it was maybe more than a little effective, but Chanyeol stayed firm. “We–,” he cleared his throat, “–we’ve only just finished the chorus and still have all of the rap sections to write. Let me play the drums for a little to cool down. My brain is starting to smoke.”

Jongdae hesitated for a moment, eyes darting around Chanyeol’s room. “We could practice our song instead, or…or eat?” he suggested. Chanyeol was almost certain he was doing whatever possible to keep him here, in his apartment, because of the noise.

“No such luck. I’ll only play for half an hour tops, okay?”

Disappointment flashed on Jongdae’s face before he deflated. “Okay fine.” He opened his mouth to say something else but closed it, choosing instead to collect his notebooks and papers into a neat pile. Chanyeol didn’t think too much about it and left for his own room, hands already itching to play.

Chanyeol couldn’t avoid Jongdae for their project even if he wanted to, but he had no escape from him during classes either. Ever since their first study session together, Jongdae had been sitting beside him in Chinese 101, so they could try and get through the course together. Jongdae seemed to have no problem with their established seating arrangement, so Chanyeol was stuck spending the last classes of the semester together with him, just close enough to count all the moles he could see on Jongdae’s skin and smell the traces of…whatever was making him smell so good.

“Chanyeol. Hey, Chanyeol!” Jongdae was waving his hand in front of Chanyeol’s face, causing him to blink a few times before the world came back into focus. The class was over and everyone was getting ready to leave. Jongdae was looking at him with concern.

Chanyeol unfroze. “Oh hey…uh, what did you need?” he asked, even if it was pretty obvious.

“Aside from returning you to the living? I was trying to ask you if you wanted to study for the exam together, you in?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to work together with someone who actually knows Chinese?”  Chanyeol asked hesitantly. He liked studying with Jongdae, but he felt like he was losing his mind. He knew exactly how many visible moles Jongdae had on this side of his body and was satisfied he could now imitate Jongdae under any circumstance. They also desperately needed  _ real _ help from someone who knew what they were doing if they wanted to pass the class.

“You and I both know we’re beyond hope,” Jongdae said with a wave of his hand, as if he’d read Chanyeol’s mind, “we might as well suffer together. It might be good for a laugh.” Jongdae was grinning at him like he usually did and it was painful in a beautiful sort of way.

“Yeah…sure. I’m ready to butcher those verbs like it’s nobody’s business,” he said with a little false enthusiasm.

“Excellent! See you later,” Jongdae chirped before leaving. Despite everything, Chanyeol was not above admiring Jongdae’s ass as he left. Some things never changed.

He was  _ “thinking about it” _ as Jongdae had asked him to. He thought about it a lot, definitely more than he’d admit to. Actually, he had to expend a great amount of effort just to stop thinking about it, especially with Jongdae attached to his hip all the bloody time. The more time they spent together like this, the more distinctly aware Chanyeol became of him and all of the details he realized he already knew, but hadn’t paid much attention to, now overwhelmed him and fed his imagination. For instance, Jongdae had a  _ very  _ pretty mouth and Chanyeol was less than satisfied with only two short kisses, he was just confused about everything else.

Baekhyun had just taken what he wanted and Chanyeol went with it naturally, falling in step with him as the lead; there was no confusion about how he or Baekhyun had felt because Baekhyun basically announced it to him until he came around. This time, he was stuck with a lot of questions, an overactive imagination, and a whole lot of something he was hesitant to name.

 

–

**MESSAGE KSoo**

_ yeol: pls help im confused _

_ KSoo: About what? _

_ yeol: what we talked about before _

_ yeol: the kiss and everything _

 

_ KSoo: Chanye- _

_ Ksoo: Wait. _

_ KSoo: Is jongdae out? _

_ yeol: yeah he went out for food with minseok, why? _

_ KSoo: No reason. _

_ KSoo: Okay give me a few. _

_ yeol: what? _

 

Approximately ten minutes later Kyungsoo was at his door, breathing heavily. He had a frantic look in his eyes.

“Where did you even come from and why did you run?” Chanyeol asked, confused. Kyungsoo was wearing jeans, a pullover sweater, and a bulging knapsack, with his padded jacket open, all covered with snowflakes. His his hair was disheveled from where it had been pushed back to keep it from his face while he was cooking and his cheeks were pink.

“I didn’t, I rode my bike and then had to climb all of those damn stairs because the elevator wouldn’t work.” He fanned himself as he slid out of his coat and shoes and onto the couch. “This building is really hot,” he added, looking at Chanyeol’s thermostat.

“That it is,” Chanyeol said with a tight smile as he hastily moved to cover it up because the rooms went from boiling to freezing at the slightest touch. Kyungsoo tried to stare him down but there was no way he was spending the night under twelve blankets. After a tense moment, Kyungsoo turned away and Chanyeol felt it was safe enough to move.

Before saying anything more, Chanyeol reached down to pick up Kyungsoo’s coat and carefully hung it on a hook behind his door. He stood with his face to the door and took an extra moment to collect himself; this conversation wasn’t one he was prepared to have face to face.

Chanyeol turned around and walked over to the sofa. “Thanks for, uh, coming, Soo,” he said hesitantly as he sank down. Kyungsoo was watching him carefully behind his glasses and it was making Chanyeol antsy. “Please say something.”

Kyungsoo blinked and and then asked, “I thought you were the one who had something to say?”

“Huh?” was all Chanyeol could seem to say.

Kyungsoo’s expression went flat, “You asked to talk to me for a reason, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol waved his hand, as if he could blow the topic away. “Oh, we don’t have to get to that right away, there are other things to talk about. Did you see that zombie horror flick that’s coming out next month?”

“I did, there was an add on Twitter, but I’m here to talk to you about what you’re going to do about your obvious crush on Jongdae that you refuse to acknowledge.” Kyungsoo squinted at him, as if daring him to refute what he said.

Chanyeol’s face fell into what definitely wasn’t a pout. He already knew there was no point in trying to beat around the bush even if he tried. He also knew that Kyungsoo knew he was aware of this fact, so the mean expressions were hardly necessary–Kyungsoo’s words alone dealt enough damage.

The word “crush,” when used to describe whatever it was that he may or may not feel for Jongdae, felt way too fluffy and insubstantial to describe capture the reality of it. “I do not have a  _ crush _ on him, I don’t know what it is but it’s not that,” Chanyeol declared with certainty.

He got up off the couch and walked over to the kitchen to give himself something to do so he could steel himself for what was next. He could feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on his back as he filled two glasses with water and moved to sit on the opposite side of the sofa again. He should have grabbed something stronger–alcohol, tea, coffee–but he didn’t have the patience. 

Kyungsoo sent Chanyeol another pointed  _ look _ once he was comfortable, but if he thought 

Once they were settled, Kyungsoo closed his eyes and sighed. “Seriously Chanyeol, you’ve liked him for over a month.” Upon seeing Chanyeol’s mouth open to protest he held a hand up and continued, “Your eyes follow him everywhere, and that was before you kissed him, now you don’t look at anything else. You’re basically attached at the hip with how much time time you spend together. Chanyeol you’re in so deep you’re even deaf to his whining.”

“No one could ever be deaf to his whining, you’re just being unrealistic now,” Chanyeol scoffed.

Kyungsoo leaned forward and clapped his hands onto Chanyeol’s shoulders, “Everyone has noticed how you’re acting Chanyeol,  _ everyone. _ ”

“Everyone might be a stretch. Besides, who knows, you might be reading too far into it.” Chanyeol said, trying and failing to extract himself from Kyungsoo’s iron grip. Just because Kyungsoo was making some valid points, didn’t mean Chanyeol had to listen to them if he didn’t want to.

Kyungsoo waited for him to stop struggling before he continued, “I meant it when I said they had a betting pool. We’re not even supposed to be gambling but you’re making it so easy.”

Chanyeol frowned at him. “They have a betting pool for everything, I have big money against Jongin as to whether or not Sehun will fall for Junmyeon completely before the end of the year and who knows if that’ll ever be a thing. It’s kinda rude but it means nothing.”

“I’m just saying that they’re so sure about this, that all of the big money is in the details. You only have eyes for each other–” Kyungsoo caught Chanyeol’s skeptical glance, “–yes, he looks at you too Chanyeol. You sing together through the wall for god’s sake. You don’t think that might mean there’s something there?” Kyungsoo was all but shaking his shoulders out of frustration.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, he knew all of this, he lived it. Being told what was going on again and again wasn’t going to do much when he had no desire to define whatever feelings he might find beneath it all. His friendly relationship with Baekhyun changed to something still friendly but also vastly different the moment he admitted that he felt the same and voiced it aloud. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to change his comfortable dynamic with Jongdae just yet.

Chanyeol met Kyungsoo’s gaze. “It doesn’t matter what is or isn’t there Soo. I don’t know if I even want to find out if there is something just yet and I’m…mostly fine with how things are now.”

Kyungsoo hung his head with a sigh and leaned back on the couch, releasing Chanyeol. He rolled his head sideways to face Chanyeol. “This is getting very irritating, you do know that, right?

“Well, yeah. You could maybe just leave me alone and mind your business and maybe it won’t be,” Chanyeol said, letting his own irritation colour his tone.

“Not an option,” Kyungsoo said, shooting him down, “We have too many mutual friends and I’m tired of this mess being the centre of it all.” His expression then softened alongside his tone, “I don’t want you to be confused Chanyeol, I want you to be happy, he makes you happy. I think this, whatever it is, could be good for you if you let it happen naturally and stop pretending it isn’t happening.  _ So please do something. _ ” Kyungsoo enunciated every final word, as if trying to lodge them all into Chanyeol’s mind.

“Like what?” Chanyeol asked in a small voice.

“Confess, tell him what you think, tell him why you kissed him. I know you’ve been thinking about it, you’re not subtle at all.” Kyungsoo did not wait for confirmation, he didn’t need any. His tone did soften again when he said, “I get that you’re fine with leaving things as friends for now but I don’t think that’s what you want out of this and he deserves something more than your hesitation.”

Chanyeol didn’t look at Kyungsoo because Kyungsoo was right and Chanyeol knew it. Instead he said,  “I’ll think about it…more, whatever you want. It’s a lot for me to worry about right now with everything else that’s, so forgive me if I put this on the back burner.” Out of the corner of his eye, Chanyeol saw Kyungsoo move like he was about to say something so Chanyeol held up a hand. “I just don’t want to fuck this up. This isn’t like any of my other relationships. I didn’t like him, I might have even hated him, then we became friends, and now we’re something else and I’m trying to keep things stable because I can’t move forward right now. You get it?” He asked, finally looking at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo looked at him carefully, eyes searching his face. “Okay,” he said simply.

“Okay,” Chanyeol repeated, letting his shoulders fall in relief. He fell back on the sofa himself. Quietly he added, “Thanks for talking to me directly, it was nice of you. I’m just…confused I guess.”

“Of course.” Kyungsoo said with a small smile, one of his sweetest and rarest. It took only a second to fade before he announced, “Now that I’m here we’re having a movie night.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol said, turning on his TV and opening Netflix, grateful for the abrupt change of subject. Kyungsoo was good at reading him and sometimes he was grateful for it.

Halfway through the film–a superhero flick because he wasn’t in the mood for anything more subtle–his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen; it was Baekhyun. Kyungsoo gave him an annoyed look but they’d both seen this movie before so he said nothing as Chanyeol unlocked his phone and began to type.

 

**MESSAGE: Baek**

_ baek: CHANYEOL _

_ yeol: what _

_ baek: i’m coming over _

_ yeol: no _

_ baek: too late I’m at your door. _

_ yeol: fuck yuo _

 

There were three loud *BANGS* on his door, causing both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to jump, and Chanyeol to drop his phone.

“Go away Baekhyun you’re not wanted here!” Chanyeol called. Kyungsoo frowned in agreement.

“I bring news and gossip from afar and by ‘afar’ I mean next door!” Baekhyun shouted from beyond the door.

“We don’t want any.” Kyungsoo said firmly. His fingers curled around the remote and Chanyeol got the vague impression he was planning to throw it.

“Please, I have to tell you this, I’m not being a dick this time. It’s for Jongdae’s sake.” Something in Baekhyun’s tone gave Chanyeol pause, and he got up to open the door despite Kyungsoo’s noise of protest.

When Chanyeol opened the door, Baekhyun sped past him and took his spot on the couch before Chanyeol could bar him from entering. Resigning himself to his fate, he swung the door closed and walked in front of the TV. The way Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were both looking up at him made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, like the intervention he thought had ended just entered its second round. Knowing Baekhyun, it probably was exactly that.

Baekhyun glanced at both of them before saying, “So, Jongdae has been talking to me.”

“And?” Chanyeol asked, not humoring Baekhyun’s unnecessary dramatic pause.

Baekhyun looked at him incredulously, “And you kissed him?! I couldn’t believe it! I mean, I  _ could _ , but I also couldn’t if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t.” Chanyeol was grateful Kyungsoo had the same flat look he did.

Baekhyun was looking between the two of them. “You have to take responsibility obviously, you can’t just do that and then leave things as is, it’s confusing as hell. I know for a fact it wasn’t one of those drunk kisses you can just write off. Jongdae might be a nice guy but you can’t leave him hanging like that. Come on Chanyeol, even Kyungsoo is nodding, look at him.” It was true, Kyungsoo looked as if he actually agreed with what Baekhyun was saying.

Chanyeol understood, he really did, but he was also done for the day. “Can you guys please leave me alone? I was tired and it just happened, I don’t want to think about it any more for now.”

Baekhyun leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees and hands together. “Dude, you’ve been lowkey gay for him since you saw him, don’t pull that ‘it just happened’ shit on me. I know you don’t just kiss random people, I waited a long time until you were ready let me kiss you…which took too damn long but that’s whatever now. Point is, you like him and you’re on good terms now, what have you got to lose in asking him out?”

“We have a huge, year-long, project together and, on top of that, we’re neighbours with a noise contract between us, fucking things up would make life a nightmare. You’re the only ex I’m on good terms with Baek and, like I told Kyungsoo, I wasn’t on good terms with him to start with.  _ I need time to sort this out _ .”

Baekhyun took a deep breath and swerved the conversation into a different direction. “What if I said he’s totally down for this? I mean, you didn’t hear anything from me, but what if?” He leaned back against the couch and looked at Chanyeol through slitted eyes.

“What do you mean  _ ‘he’s ready?’ _ ” Chanyeol asked, looking puzzled.

Kyungsoo covered Baekhyun’s mouth, presumably to stop him from staying more stupidly vague things. Once Kyungsoo had made sure Baekhyun wouldn’t say anything more, he said, “Just talk to him directly you moron. Did he actually say anything about  _ he _ felt about any of this? You might not want to think about it but he might have.”

Chanyeol felt his ears go hot when he remembered Jongdae’s question as to whether he’d be opposed to doing it again. He’d been so embarrassed during that conversation he tried not to remember it. So maybe he wasn’t actually factoring Jongdae into any of this, and maybe he should be, but he’d rather not draw any more attention to the matter and let this conversation die for good.

Baekhyun threw up his arms in disgust. “Just kiss him again, see what happens.”

Chanyeol nearly spat out his water. “I can’t just kiss him, Baekhyun what the fuck?! That’s what got me in this mess in the first place.”

“Yes you can! Trust me it’ll fix everything!” Baekhyun was gesturing emphatically and nearly hit Kyungsoo in the head.

“I’m not just going to kiss him again, what makes you think I’ll do that if I don’t even want to talk about it!”

“Useless, you’re a useless person,” Kyungsoo muttered, pushing Baekhyun further away. “Say something or do something,  _ listen to us. _ ” He was completely on Baekhyun’s side now and it wasn’t fair.

“Chanyeol, you’re acting like we’re telling you to marry him or something. You kissed him on the mouth because you felt  _ something _ , don’t deny it. Just saying you like him isn’t going to kill anyone,  _ especially _ not him,” Baekhyun drawled.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Think about what we’ve been saying carefully.” Kyungsoo said slowly.

Chanyeol groaned, “Okay, yeah, sure, whatever, I’ll think about it and do something. Now if you don’t want to be kicked out of my apartment stop talking about this and leave us alone.” They looked at each other like this was definitely not the end of this but said nothing more. Kyungsoo reached for the remote and pressed play on the movie they were watching.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were soon asleep on either side of Chanyeol who was left to his thoughts alone once the movie had ended, not wanting to wake either of them up. He felt exhausted and he hadn’t even done anything yet.

 

–

 

Chanyeol was hammering away at the drums when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Jongdae. He hoped it had nothing to do with the colossal amount of noise he was making and sighed with relief when it didn’t. He still had lingering anxiety over the noise issue, which had only increased since “The Incident,” as he had now dubbed the kiss(es) ever since everyone had turned it into some huge thing. 

It was his lucky day, instead of a noise complaint, Jongdae had asked him over because he had an idea for their final song. Chanyeol replied with a  _ “Sure thing!” _ and hurried next door with his laptop.

Jongdae’s idea turned out to be great and sped up the process of actually producing their second song by a lot. Overlaying their voices in the way he’d described would reduce the strain on Chanyeol’s own voice a lot as well as reduce the number of lyrics they need to write entirely. Chanyeol had nearly ran up and hugged him before he realized what he was about to do and stopped with his arms outstretched. He gave Jongdae a high five instead, hoping his hesitation had gone unnoticed, though he had a feeling it hadn’t

The rest of their time together passed quickly and by the time they’d finished and Chanyeol had inputted the changes and saved the file a million times both on his laptop and onto an external hard drive. By this point it was nearly 2am and he was exhausted.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Jongdae asked from where he was hanging off his bed upside down.  His shirt was riding up slightly and Chanyeol did his best not to pay attention to the distracting trail of hair beneath his navel. He didn’t look tired in the least bit; if anything, he seemed to buzz with energy. 

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes and leaned back in Jongdae’s desk chair, yawning. “Why aren’t you tired? I could sleep for days.”

“You said you had a film assignment, I’m being nice and offering to help,” Jongdae said as he sat up and crossed his legs. “I thought it was due next week?”

Chanyeol jolted upright as reality hit like a cold bucket of water to the face. “Oh shit you’re right, it was the soundtrack one.” He dragged a hand down his face and looked over at a smiling Jongdae. He was hard to refuse when he got like this. “Ok fine we’ll watch one. If I fall asleep kick me awake.” He wasn’t keen on having another movie night so soon after the last one, but if it meant he could get one more assignment finished before the night was over then he was game. He couldn’t help but wonder when Jongdae managed to learn his schedule better than he did.

Jongdae snorted at Chanyeol’s request and hopped off the bed. “Great, I’ll go make popcorn,” he said cheerfully and headed to the kitchen.

Chanyeol wondered where he stored all of that energy considering he almost always woke up earlier. Chanyeol shrugged it off, it didn’t matter much. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up Jongdae’s PS4 controller to set up Netflix and scrolled to the movie he wanted to watch that he’d chosen from the list he’d been given by his professor. He pulled over one of the notepads and set it up on the arm of the couch since his laptop was pretty much dead.

Only then did it occur to Chanyeol that this situation was a little odd. Chanyeol wasn’t entirely sure what he’d just signed himself up for; sure, he did have an assignment, but he was also under the distinct impression that he’d been played in some way. Jongdae usually let him go home when he looked like he was about to collapse, and movie nights were always in Chanyeol’s rooms because he usually had more snacks and a better entertainment system. A slight wariness creeped into the back of his mind but Jongdae’s eager smile as he came back to Chanyeol pushed it away.

Jongdae settled down beside him, popcorn on his lap. Instead of taking the other end of the 3-seat sofa like he usually did, he chose to sit in the middle, beside Chanyeol. It was a little weird considering how much room they had on the couch to sprawl out, but the popcorn was within arm’s reach so who was Chanyeol to complain.

“Fresh popcorn just for you sir,” Jongdae said shaking the bowl.

“Why thank you,” Chanyeol replied, taking a large handful and shoving in his mouth so he didn’t have to say anything more. If Jongdae wanted to sit with his leg pressed against Chanyeol’s, making the chilly room considerably warmer, that was his business. Chanyeol made the executive decision to appreciate it and not ask questions. Instead, he pressed play without giving Jongdae a second glance.

“This is a terrible movie,” Jongdae complained about 10 minutes in, falling heavily onto Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Why did you pick it?” Jongdae whined a little too close to Chanyeol’s ear when the latter remained silent. Chanyeol shivered, but if Jongdae noticed he didn’t say anything.

Chanyeol, having given up on resisting Jongdae’s overwhelming presence in his personal space, merely shifted to accommodate him. He was a little surprised at how naturally Jongdae’s smaller frame fit against him, and was equally unnerved at how much he found he liked sitting together like this. It was making it difficult to focus, but not enough for him to put a stop to it. 

“We’re not watching it for quality we’re watching it because it won an award for its soundtrack a few years back and it was on the list to choose from. It was the only one from the list on Netflix so it’s not like I had a choice. Now get off me you’re heavy.” Chanyeol shoved Jongdae, trying to dislodge him before Jongdae could whisper more complaints in his ear or snuggle closer.

As if sensing his discomfort, Jongdae put the popcorn aside and purposefully latched himself to Chanyeol like a barnacle. “It’s cold and this movie sucks, let me leech your warmth so I can fall asleep.” Chanyeol relented easily and let Jongdae curl up at his side like a cat, head falling in Chanyeol’s lap.

“If  _ you _ fall asleep on me I’ll pinch you,” Chanyeol threatened. He gave Jongdae a light pinch causing him to yelp and scowl before making himself comfortable on Chanyeol’s thighs. Chanyeol laughed but, as an apology, he reached over to card his fingers through Jongdae’s hair lightly, Jongdae hummed.  _ Definitely a cat _ , thought Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol stayed like that for another moment before once again attempting to pay attention to the film while trying hard to ignore the warm but loud weight in his lap. The comforting silence was sweet and soft and altogether too short; Jongdae wasn’t a quiet person after all. He continued his whiny critique of the film with gusto. “The soundtrack isn’t even that good, it sounds like every other period piece soundtrack. You could have at least picked something fun with interesting, not-somber classical music.”

“Too late now, I already have notes and a thesis, so, if you’re not going to move, pass the popcorn.” Jongdae sat up reluctantly and passed over the popcorn that he’d tossed aside. He went back to his position, eating popcorn and making the occasional scathing remark.

Amidst the criticism and messy note taking, Chanyeol was absentmindedly tapping patterns into the couch with his left hand in time with the music, his hand moving as if he were using a keyboard. It took a few minutes for him to realize that, instead of the sofa, he was using Jongdae’s thigh. Jongdae felt him freeze and followed his gaze. He laughed when he realized Chanyeol had finally noticed what he had been doing and at the embarrassment on his face. “Sorr–”

Jongdae shoved a handful of popcorn into Chanyeol’s face. “Shut up it’s fine, I don’t mind. Just watch your damn movie.” Jongdae said, popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

Chanyeol decided to keep his hand to himself from there on, which of course didn’t last because he was fidgety and Jongdae was right, this film was awful. He was soon drawing patterns along Jongdae’s thigh again, matching the melody.

About halfway through the film, when two of the characters had a poorly acted argument with musical accompaniment, Jongdae made a disgusted noise. “How can you stand this? It’s so bad. The percussion is all over the place and doesn’t match anything. Don’t even get me started on the plot, which makes no sense. Why would his brother betray him like that? There was no build up to it!”

“Again, it won an Oscar, that must mean something even if it’s not clear why. Besides, they made great background song choices even if the instrumentals suck,” Chanyeol said defensively. Why he was defending his choice he had no idea.

Jongdae threw popcorn at Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol frowned, eating the bits that had fallen into his lap. “Fine, whatever,” Jongdae said airily, “It’s your project and maybe there’s something to be said in analyzing something terrible. I’m just saying it doesn’t really work when you put it all together. Valid criticism from someone in the same major. You should credit me for my ideas.” Jongdae looked like he was about to say something else but kept his mouth shut.

“First of all, no, I’m not doing that. Second, you don’t have ears, it’s all creating suspense. It’s the fact that the strings are too quiet and there’s not enough bass tha–”

Jongdae suddenly shifted, moving so he was no longer draped over Chanyeol. He was soon sitting face to face with Chanyeol, meeting his eyes directly. “Okay I’m done with this stupid film,” he said, “I was going to wait until after but I have something to talk to you about.” There was something off about Jongdae’s voice that Chanyeol couldn’t quite place.

“Chanyeol turn that off and look at me,” Jongdae said insistently, a hand on Chanyeol’s thigh.

Chanyeol paused the move and sat up from where he was leaning against the arm of the sofa. Their faces were close now, noses almost touching, he realized. His heartbeat quickened as he searched Jongdae’s face; there was nowhere else to look. Jongdae’s expression was hard and determined, completely different from the lazy indifference he’d show earlier while whining about the film. Jongdae’s eyes flickered down and he moved as close as he could. He placed one hand firmly on Chanyeol’s far shoulder. Chanyeol’s heart beat even faster, overwhelmed. He licked his lips out of nerves and Jongdae dug his hand harder into Chanyeol’s shoulder in response.

“It’s my turn this time,” Jongdae whispered quietly, his words sounding like both a question and a statement.

Whatever it was he wanted, Chanyeol’s answer was yes. His body thrummed, the sound of his own heart in his ears, spreading warmth throughout his body. He leaned forward in anticipation.

Jongdae cupped Chanyeol’s face with his other hand, softly, letting the question hang just a moment longer, then he leaned in.

Without further hesitation, Jongdae tilted his head kissed him hard on the lips. Jongdae’s lips were soft and warm but it wasn’t a gentle affair, and it only lasted a moment. But, in that moment, the world seemed to stop as all of Chanyeol’s locked up thoughts and emotions came tumbling out in the form of a burning desire he was sure wasn’t there before. Chanyeol, utterly thunderstruck, didn’t move, or rather he’d forgotten how to move or breathe, so when Jongdae asked, “You okay?” he struggled to squeak out a quiet,  _ “Yes.” _

Jongdae pulled him in for another kiss, a brief but much softer press of Jongdae’s lips against his own. Chanyeol swore he could feel the corners of Jongdae’s mouth twitch up when Chanyeol responded instinctively by wrapping a hand around Jongdae’s arm. 

The spell was broken when Chanyeol turned away to sneeze, causing Jongdae to give a shaky laugh as Chanyeol quickly grabbed a tissue.

The moment apart allowed his brain to restart.  _ Jongdae. Kissed. Him. _ The words echoed through his head. Jongdae had kissed him  _ on purpose _ and not in some sleep-deprived haze as he had done. He almost reached up and touched his lips just to affirm this was real, not trusting himself. In the back of his mind he realized Baekhyun was right, in a way, he had been acting a little dramatic when all of this could have been so simple.

When Chanyeol backed away, he realized Jongdae was watching him with apprehension, his cheeks pink. His hands hovered over Chanyeol’s arms, no longer confident, before settling on his own thighs. 

“Say something,” Jongdae asked in a soft voice.

How was he supposed to say anything when it felt like the wrong words could change everything? The tension between them was so think that Chanyeol could barely breathe let alone think. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to form coherent sentences anytime soon and he was more aware of Jongdae’s physical presence than ever. Even if he’d removes his hand, Jongdae was practically in his lap at this point. Chanyeol was at a loss, not brave enough to continue, but unable to pull away.

What he was sure about was that he wanted to wipe the uncertainty off Jongdae’s face, because Jongdae hadn’t done anything wrong. Chanyeol’s ears were burning and his heart was racing but he didn’t back away any further. He met Jongdae’s eyes and gently wrapped two hands around his waist, surprised at how narrow it was, and pulling him just a little closer before sliding them down to rest on his hips. He gave Jongdae an encouraging smile that maybe, definitely betrayed how much he wanted more.

The uncertainty was gone from Jongdae’s expression, replaced by a satisfied smile and twinkling eyes. “I guess it worked then.”

“What worked?” Chanyeol asked, furrowing his brow and shifting a little uncomfortably, trying to get used to this abrupt change of mood.

“You were too loud, I couldn’t hear the film even if I wanted to watch. This way I don’t have to watch and I get a little peace and quiet.” Jongdae’s cat-like smile never wavered as he said this. Chanyeol chose not to remind him that he’d been the one talking more than half the time.

“You could have turned up the volume, the controller is right here. But no, you just had to shut me up instead. How well did that work out?”

Jongdae gave him a pointed look, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re very loud right now, there’s clearly no shutting you up for more than 10 seconds. The first trial is a failure.”

“W-what do you mean trial?” Jongdae didn’t look all that disappointed about his failure and Chanyeol had way too many questions.

“Well, I don’t know Chanyeol maybe you should  _ figure it out _ ,” Jongdae emphasized and enunciated the last three words of his sentence as he slid his hands around Chanyeol’s neck. His eyes were still searching Chanyeol’s, silently asking the question.  _ “Is this okay?” _

Who was Chanyeol to say no? However he did it and however nervous he was, Jongdae was trying to take the leap Chanyeol couldn’t. A surge of emotion shot through him; relief, fondness, happiness, need, anticipation, and whatever else shot through him. Confidence bolstered, Chanyeol supposed the least he could do was to meet him halfway.

“Does this mean there are more trials?” he asked, quirking up an eyebrow.

Jongdae was still watching him carefully. “Only if you’re a willing participant.”

“More than willing.”

“You sure about that?” Jongdae asked, tugging Chanyeol a little closer.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol breathed.

“Then there’s no problem,” Jongdae said, tightening his arms and falling against him with a satisfied smile on his face.

This kiss started softly and slowly, much more than the last one. Chanyeol took his time trying to figure out what Jongdae liked, asking silent questions as he kissed with increasing need. Chanyeol slid his hands over Jongdae’s waist and up his back just as Jongdae wound his hands into Chanyeol’s hair until they were much closer than before.

Chanyeol wasn’t one for gentle kisses, he wanted nothing more than to press forward, to bite Jongdae’s lips and lick into his mouth before marking him up and down his neck, but he also wasn’t sure what Jongdae wanted and held back. He should have known better.

Jongdae didn’t hesitate to get what he wanted. Needy and insistent, he was set on prying the responses he wanted from Chanyeol. Their once slow and deliberate kiss soon turned into something far more sensual and desperate when he took charge.

Jongdae tightened his grip on Chanyeol’s hair, holding him in place–not that he planned to move. He then bit Chanyeol's lip and then took his time sucking at it as he slid his hands through Chanyeol’s hair. Chanyeol let out a groan at the sudden change of pace and Jongdae made a pleased noise at the back of his throat. Craving more, Chanyeol finally opened his mouth for Jongdae, but if he was expecting Jongdae to press forward and lick into his mouth with the same eagerness he was disappointed. Jongdae was a fucking tease, he realized with horror. 

He felt Jongdae’s smirk against his mouth as he licked lightly into Chanyeol’s mouth, just enough to leave him frustrated, before abusing his lips again and peppering kisses along his jaw until he was toying with Chanyeol’s ear. He shuddered. Chanyeol pulled him back and Jongdae let Chanyeol explore his mouth, making noises when Chanyeol did something he liked, but continued to hold back. Chanyeol slid his arms up Jongdae’s sides and back down, pulling his hips forward so they were truly flush against one another. He hummed impatiently, pinching the skin beneath Jongdae’s sweatshirt, trying to get Jongdae to do something, anything.

Jongdae smiled against Chanyeol’s lips again, radiating smugness, and started sucking on Chanyeol’s tongue after sweeping Chanyeol’s mouth with his own. Chanyeol moaned loud and deep at the sudden contact. Jongdae wasn’t satisfied with that though, his teasing was relentless, pushing forward and pulling back in between kissing him elsewhere. Frustrated, Chanyeol decided it was high time he did something.

When they broke apart for a breather Jongdae managed to say, “You see? I told you I was the better kisser.”

_ Of course, he was _ , Chanyeol thought bitterly, but he wasn’t at all disappointed. Jongdae knew what he was doing and what kind of effect it would have; clearly, his pretty mouth was good for more than just singing.

Chanyeol was busy catching his breath but was eventually able to respond, “I agree, I’m glad I kissed you. Worth it. But I’m not done yet.”

“Then get to it.” Jongdae held Chanyeol’s face and brought their lips together again.

Chanyeol didn’t let Jongdae begin his game again, and he didn’t bother playing some intricate one of his own. He was better at being straightforward. He forced Jongdae to match his pace as they moved their lips together to a relentless beat only Chanyeol could hear. It was simple but intense. Once Jongdae was following along with his lips, he started rocking his hips to the same beat on Chanyeol’s lap. Chanyeol slid his hands under Jongdae’s shirt and started exploring his bare sides, his back, and then his chest. He brushed Jongdae’s nipples briefly, toying with them with his thumb in revenge for the teasing. Jongdae moaned, bucking his hips forward with a jolt.

Jongdae sat back, breathing heavily, his lips red, cheeks pink, and hair disheveled. Chanyeol looked down, Jongdae’s growing erection was obvious in his thin sweatpants and the sight made his throat go dry. His own cock twitched at the sight and his breath hitched his breath.

“Guess it works in getting  _ you _ to shut up though, the second trial is a success,” Chanyeol chirped, trying to regain composure even as he shifted in discomfort.

“You can’t use my own tactics against me,” Jongdae said indignantly, “This is  _ my _ experiment, you’re breaking the rules.”

Chanyeol hummed, “I don’t remember any rules being established, and might I remind you that you could do well to shut up. I’d say the second trial is another fail. I also have to finish my movie.”

“Oh shut it, your terrible movie can wait, we have other issues we need to fix, and I think it’d be efficient if we did it  _ together _ . It’s too late for movies anyway and this was my plan from the start.” His leaned in while hand reached down went right to Chanyeol’s crotch, running a finger along the length of his cock, causing him to squirm, and then placed it on Chanyeol’s hip. Jongdae rocked his hips forward again before Chanyeol could say anything pressing against Chanyeol and causing him to gasp. 

“You’re unbelievable,” Chanyeol said hoarsely, holding him at bay.

“But you still love me. Now let’s get back to what we were doing.” Jongdae escaped his grasp and started sucking and nipping at the skin at the base of Chanyeol’s neck.

“Fine,” Chanyeol grunted as Jongdae left even more bites along his nape, “fuck subtlety I guess,” Chanyeol said between kisses.

Chanyeol pulled at Jongdae’s shirt and forced him to raise his arms so he could pull them off. Jongdae wasted no time dragging Chanyeol’s sweatshirt and undershirt off too until nothing was left between their overheated skin.

“You know,” Jongdae said between sucking hickies all across Chanyeol’s exposed shoulders, “I was tired of waiting for you to get your obtuse head out of your ass and take a hint. We can finally get to all of the things I’ve spent months imagining in my head since we’re already here.” Jongdae patted Chanyeol’s cheek before giving him another peck on the lips. Chanyeol didn’t miss his searching look.

Chanyeol bit his lip. As fun as this was and as much as he was down for this, it was also 3am and he was exhausted. He had to get up early and he didn’t want to be sore on top of that.

His hesitation must have shown on his face because Jongdae said, “Chanyeol we don’t have to do anything, I can hear you thinking from here.”

“You think I’m going to just leave things like this.” To prove his point, he raised a thigh so it  pressed against the hardened cock in Jongdae’s pants, giving him a taste of his own medicine. As tired as he was, it had been months since he’d had sex and he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.

“Honestly? No.” Jongdae said frankly.

“Good, I’m glad you understand,” he said. He pushed Jongdae back and off the couch so he could slide his pants downwards followed by his boxers. His cock sprang free and stood throbbing between them. Not long after felt another wave of heat pool in his abdomen when he noticed Jongdae watching him intently.

“Like what you see?” he asked in an attempt to sound casual while he very much did not feel casual.

“Yes,” Jongdae breathed, struggling with the tie on his sweatpants. Not once did he look away, even once the knot gave way and his own dick was freed, straining with need, precum already beading at the tip.

“Mm,” Chanyeol said, “what now?” He was lazily stroking himself to ease the immediate need for friction and keep away the cold.

“Stop that,” Jongdae said, nodding at Chanyeol’s hand. Chanyeol obeyed reluctantly, already missing the warmth. “As nice as it is to watch you do that, I want this to last a little longer.”

“So, am I supposed to suck your dick? Because I can and will right now,” Chanyeol said, looking at Jongdae’s leaking cock feeling the need to do  _ something _ .

Jongdae’s face twisted as he thought about it. “Maybe next time,” he said with reluctance.

Chanyeol fluttered his lashes. “Are you sucking  _ my _ dick?”

“No. Close your legs so I can sit on you again.”

Chanyeol complied and Jongdae quickly moved to straddle him again. The movement caused their cocks to brush against each other and Chanyeol hissed at the sudden friction, gripping Jongdae’s hips tightly. Jongdae took a deep breath, composing himself, before he finished settling into place.

Both of their cocks were now standing between them, Jongdae’s thick and warm against his stomach, just barely brushing his own. Just as he was ready to remove his hands from Jongdae’s hips, he heard a tearse, “No touching.”

Chanyeol gave jongdae a dirty look, he was aching for friction, not expecting to be this sensitive so soon. Jongdae merely met Chanyeol’s mouth with him and kissed him with less teasing and more breathless desperation. His hands explored Chanyeol’s body but never reached down between them, his only attention to their respective dicks being the slow rolling of his hips. The sensation of his cock against Jongdae’s stomach sent jolts of electricity up Chanyeol’s spine. He tried to match Jongdae’s pace but this wasn’t quite enough, Jongdae was still teasing him. Every slight brush of his neglected cock against Jongdae’s kept him from getting a good rhythm. Chanyeol was done with his bullshit. He pulled Jongdae in so there was no space between them, their cocks trapped, straining higher between them and rubbing against one another in a way that was ever so slightly more satisfying.

Jongdae’s hands were still wandering as he abused yet another spot on Chanyeol’s collar, so Chanyeol decided to move his as well. He slid his hands down to Jongdae’s plump ass, spread out across his legs. It was just as firm and perky as he’d imagined, fitting into his hands perfectly. He squeezed, kneading his fingers in and moving them dangerously inward, causing Jongdae to let out a satisfying groan and push him backwards. 

“Hey!”

Chanyeol squeezed harder and leaned down towards Jongdae’s ear. “Stop being a tease or I’ll do it again, I’m not gonna last like this.” 

Jongdae rolled his eyes, but finally gave in wrapped a hand around them both. Chanyeol groaned loudly, his cock finally getting the proper attention and warmth he craved. His full length was pressed against Jongdae’s, incredibly hard, hot, and slick. Whatever he had imagined or hoped for didn’t match up to reality.

“Any louder than that and you’ll break curfew,” Jongdae mused, pumping with strong, purposeful strokes.

Chanyeol ignored him and knocked Jongdae’s hand aside, wrapping his own around both of their dicks.

For all his talk Jongdae lost composure pretty quickly at that. “I hate you…fuck. Both of us? Seriously? And my ass too? Why are your hands so fucking big?”

“Life is unfair like that, just appreciate that you have them to yourself,” Chanyeol said with a grin as he used their precum to slick his hand as much as he could before moving harder and faster. It wasn’t lube but it was better than nothing.

Now that he wasn’t being deprived, he stroked both of their cocks at a steady rhythm, bucking his hips upward to push more of his length against Jongdae’s cock. Jongdae moaned when Chanyeol started increasing his pace and he proceeded to do whatever it took to make him do it again. Between the heat of his hand, the heat of Jongdae’s dick against his own, and Jongdae’s overwhelming presence, he was being dragged closer and closer to the edge.

“Hey,” Jongdae said covering Chanyeol’s lips with his own in an effort to make him slow down. It didn’t stop him from moaning into Chanyeol’s mouth as Chanyeol swiped his thumb over the slit of Jongdae’s cock, circling and toying with each of their heads in turn. The calluses on his fingers only added to the sensation; he was used to it but Jongdae definitely wasn’t and the look on his face, as well as the noise me made, were priceless.

Chanyeol grunted, “Now who’s breaking curfew?”

Instead of answering Jongdae rolled his hips and wrapped his hand around Chanyeol’s, pulling his grip tighter as he guided him to pump even faster. Both of their movements were becoming erratic and their breaths came short and soon both of them were coming, trails of come on their chests before Jongdae could stop the rest with his hand.

“Well that was…a lot,” Chanyeol said leaning back against the couch, still a little lost at the development.

“A long time coming you mean,” Jongdae mumbled. He stood up and went to find a cloth to wipe up with. Chanyeol wasn’t sure if the pun was intended but he gave a tired smile in the direction of Jongdae’s retreating back anyway. Soon they were both dressed and lying on the couch, not saying anything.

Chanyeol coughed. “…Pun aside, what do you mean ‘a long time coming?’” He remembered what the others had said earlier. Of course, he hadn’t quite believed them until then, but their hints that Jongdae liked him made a lot more sense now. Now that it was just them and whatever had just happened between them, Chanyeol found himself wanting to know more than just that. He wanted the answers to the questions he’d been afraid to ask.

Jongdae looked over at him with his head leaning against the back of the couch, a serious expression on his face. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I moved in, and even more so after I found out the tall person with the useful big hands in all of Baekhyun’s kinky adventures was you.”

Chanyeol blinked at him. He could believe the part about him being attracted right away–Chanyeol liked to think of himself as dashingly good looking. What surprised him was the level of influence his sex adventures ( _ sexventures? _ ) had on Jongdae’s interest in him, even if they were very  _ interesting _ and occasionally sweet. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to thank Baekhyun or kick his ass. The second thing that surprised him was just how long he’d felt like this; it was much longer than Kyungsoo had implied.

“I guess that would explain the peace efforts,” Chanyeol laughed weakly.

“Pretty much,” Jongdae replied with a tight lipped smile. “But also, not really.  _ This, _ this right now, _ ” _ he said, pointing between the two of them, “was just a pipe dream, don’t get me wrong. I just wanted things to be better between us. I almost gave up on you ever liking me when the fighting got worse.”

Chanyeol laughed even harder. “What do you mean ‘a pipe dream?’”

“That’s the part you focus on? Whatever…yeah, it was something I thought about a lot but never thought would happen, even if we became friends.” he explained. 

Chanyeol hummed, “And what did you do when you thought long and hard about it.” He flashed Jongdae a shit-eating grin and Jongdae smacked him.

“Whyyyy are you like this. If you’re going to make noew stupid puns I will not hesitate to revoke certain rights. Both sexual and not.” Jongdae was pouting and it was cute enough for Chanyeol to give him another peck and received a rather violent bite in return.

“What? I just wanted to show that I do, in fact, appreciate your cute and talented mouth, annoying as it may be. I also appreciate you,” Chanyeol said, fluttering his eyelashes.

“How sweet, thanks,” Jongdae said. Chanyeol caught a glint to Jongdae’s eyes before he was rolling over so he wasn’t looking at Chanyeol. “Just so you know, I got long and hard while thinking about it too.”

Chanyeol choked before he burst out laughing. He ignored the mental image Jongdae’s confession had so helpfully provided him, he was too tired for anything more. Chanyeol yawned, “Okay, I can’t stay awake anymore. Let me crash here, we both have the same class anyway.”

“Sure, sure. To the bed.” Jongdae said, getting up from the sofa and pulling on a pair of pyjamas, throwing a t-shirt and shorts at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol wasn’t one to argue when it came to sleeping so he dropped onto Jongdae’s bed and fell asleep to the sound of Jongdae breathing just a few inches beside him. He still had to finish that movie but it could stand to wait a little.

 

–

 

“So, we had sex but I don’t know what it  _ means _ . Like, the feelings are there I think,  but nothing was defined relationship wise; I don’t know what we  _ are _ .”

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were sitting in the coffee shop where Kyungsoo worked, a few minutes before his shift. Chanyeol was already on his second coffee and was in full venting mode.

Kyungsoo gave him one of those exasperated looks that meant he was being obtuse. “Fucking finally, we thought it would never happen,” he muttered.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “What?”

“What do you think it means Chanyeol? You like him, he likes you, it’s not rocket science. I get that you were too dumb to realize this, but you know how it works from here on.” Kyungsoo was talking to him as if he was 5 and it was making him mad.

“Okay but I didn’t realize  _ I _ liked him until recently and am a little overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter what it looked like to the rest of you.” Chanyeol was so tired of people deciding things about his love life. He could ‘kind-of-like-but-not-totally-sure-about-it” someone if he wanted.

“Okay fine, but you have to admit you were interested for a while at the very least.” He looked at Chanyeol as if daring him to refute that. He did not. Kyungsoo continued, “And while you’ve been  _ interested _ he’s been quite a bit more than  _ interested _ for a while now. It’s been driving us all nuts watching him try to get you to notice.” Kyungsoo had this crazy look in his eyes and Chanyeol leaned back a little.

“First off,” Chanyeol said, getting a little courage back, “while he might have told _me_ , how do _you_ even know how long he felt that way? Second what do you mean by ‘all of us?’ Do you mean your little gambling club of traitors? Or just you and Baekhyun?” He knew they knew Jongdae liked him period, but if all of them were aware Jongdae had liked him since forever that was a different matter.

“Jongdae told me,” Kyungsoo said simply. “I asked him how he felt about you after the whole thing at the cafe where the two were staring at each other like you were both head over heels in love. He admitted he had liked you for a long time. Baek started teasing him after that so I assumed it was true. He got pretty red after he said it, it was cute.”

Chanyeol felt like he’d been left out on some sort of big secret, one that very explicitly involved him. He couldn’t exactly fault Jongdae because, well, he sympathized with him among other reasons. The rest of them, however, could have made his life a lot easier. “How come no one told  _ me _ ?”

“We, meaning myself and Jongdae and a few others, thought it might be best if you figured out your own feelings first. He didn’t want to pressure you into admitting to feelings you may or may not have had. It’s not our fault that took forever to happen.”

Channel played with his cup without looking up, “Still, I might have figured it out sooner if someone clued me in at some point.”

“We did try and clue you in when Baek and I talked to you after your kiss. I literally told you that you had feelings for him and when you said no I told you to think about it and then Baek told you Jongdae didn’t mind that it happened, which meant that he was up for more. You just didn’t want to listen or consider it. It’s your fault you’re an idiot.”

“Okay that was my bad,” he said begrudgingly, not looking at Kyungsoo. “How long has this been going on?” he asked curiously. They’d all been paying way too much attention to this, he wanted to know how deep it all went.

“I didn’t know until later, I promise. Baekhyun was apparently doing everything he could to set you two up from the beginning, including forcing you to reconcile with Jongdae’s blessing. Jongdae liked you a lot, even if you didn’t talk, he didn’t want to fight he’s just…almost as competitive as you are, which complicated things a little. Apparently, he was about to give up on you at one point but you started changing how you acted towards him and it gave him a little hope. If you want to blame anyone, blame Baekhyun. The gambling thing was something random that started because of your fight, not you liking each other. The first one was who would strangle the other first.”

Chanyeol put his head in his hands. “Kyungsoo it’s been  _ weeks  _ since then! He’s been manipulating us for that long? Fuck. That little fuck. My ex setting me up with his best friend? Jongdae didn’t even know someone was doing anything either.”

“And how do you feel now?” Kyungsoo said, a knowing smile already spreading on his face.

Chanyeol leaned back, arms folded and brow furrowed. “I feel like I’ve been manipulated. I also kind of want to hit Baekhyun, but I always feel like that.”

“Okay sure, we pushed you a little, but the rest was all you and your feelings. You even went so far as to ask him to do that project with him. Baekhyun said he had nothing to do with that and was over the moon when he found out.” Kyungsoo paused for a moment. “Ok, so I did recommend him to you, but I didn’t know about this at the time and choosing him did make sense.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol said, thoughtfully. He supposed they couldn’t do everything, feelings couldn’t be fabricated and there was so much he did they didn’t know about. He felt a lot better now that he knew that the biggest reason he had fallen for Jongdae was something that was entirely his decision. “He  _ was _ the right choice, so I’m not mad about that.”

Chanyeol looked out the window of the coffee shop. He could feel Kyungsoo watching him. He took a sip of coffee and thought about the information that had just been dumped on him. He couldn’t be mad at Jongdae. Even if he hadn’t been pining for long, he knew it was hard to do anything about it when you didn’t know how the other person felt. He was also glad all of this happened, but mostly because of the end result, both the project and his…thing with Jongdae that he had no definition for yet. On the other hand, he was a little pissed with his friends and decided they’d need a little comeuppance.

Chanyeol turned back towards Kyungsoo who looked at him with uncertainty. Chanyeol clapped his hands together and said, “Ok that’s all well and good but not what I’m here to talk about. Like I said, I don’t know what  _ we _ are yet, like we sort of fucked but not  _ all _ the way and definitely not in a bro way. To put it in layman’s terms, of course. I didn’t even get to tell him that I liked him. There was no exchanging of likes Kyungsoo, it doesn’t feel valid.”

“One sec.” Kyungsoo pulled out his phone and shot off a message. Kyungsoo rarely pulled out his phone mid conversation so Chanyeol wondered what he was up to. Kyungsoo didn’t say anything until his phone buzzed with the response. Kyungsoo then explained what he’d done, “I asked Jongdae if you two were dating now. He sent me a few question marks and said, ‘I haven’t asked Chanyeol yet because we fell asleep but I want to, why do you ask?’ Do you understand now?”

Chanyeol nodded, unable to say anything.  _ Dating, they were dating. _ He felt giddy.

“I’m texting him back,” Kyungsoo announced. The same sequence of events occurred and Kyungsoo read out the answer, “‘Guess I have a boyfriend, tell him to ask me himself next time :).’”

Kyungsoo put his phone away. “I hope you see what I mean. You better text him or he’ll be pissed. I’m going to work now.” He left for the back room before Chanyeol could get in a word edgewise. Kyungsoo might possibly be the best friend ever, king of ending romantic misunderstandings.

 

**MESSAGE: jongdae**

_ yeol: so i guess we’re dating?? _

_ jongdae: did you miss the whole part where he asked me on your behalf 2 minutes ago? _

_ yeol: but like DATING dating??????? _

_ jongdae: of course, we even have Kyungsoo’s blessing - the only one that matters _

_ yeol: true _

_ yeol: still,,, _

_ yeol: i didn’t even confess _

_ jongdae: well i mean we did that whole thing where we kissed and rubbed our dicks together and talked about my feelings _

_ jongdae: i sort of figured yours were the same under the circumstances _

_ jongdae: you also just agreed to date _

_ jongdae: so yes DATING dating _

_ yeol: could have been a bro thing _

_ jongdae: do you really think it was a bro thing, those were some pretty cheesy lines for a bro thing _

_ yeol: ok no, i do like you _

_ yeol: a lot _

_ yeol: like for real i’d suck your dick full homo a lot _

_ jongdae: you really didn’t have to put it that way _

_ yeol: i felt like it went with the flow _

_ jongdae: well I suppose I’d full homo push you down and raw you til you beg _

_ yeol: what _

_ jongdae: with consent ofc _

_ jongdae:…I’m kidding unless you want to but uh _

_ jongdae: anyway _

_ jongdae: we can kill our “friends” later _

_ jongdae: I know they’ve been keeping you in the dark _

_ yeol: you can bet your ass they’re dead _

_ jongdae: Lmao I knew you’d say that, fine by me _

_ jongdae: they’ve been teasing me mercilessly _

_ jongdae: oh g2g love you full homo _

_ yeol: love you too, full homo _

_ yeol: i mean it _

 

Minseok walked up to Chanyeol’s table wearing a maroon apron and holding a fresh, steaming cup of coffee. Chanyeol was too busy downing the last dregs of his second one and grinning at his phone like an idiot and totally lost in thought to notice him standing there. He was thinking he should tell Jongdae that in person once he saw him again.

“Sexting? In public? I thought better of you Chanyeol.” Chanyeol nearly choked.

“I–I’m not. What the fuck Minseok?” Chanyeol tried to pull himself together but Jongdae’s promises, still displayed on the screen of his phone, had done a lot of damage to his cognitive functioning.

Chanyeol glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Kyungsoo was snickering behind the cash register but thankfully the cafe was otherwise empty, sparing him any further embarrassment.

“You’re as red as a cherry tomato,” Minseok said chuckling, taking the seat across from Chanyeol that Kyungsoo had recently vacated. “I take it everything has fallen into place between you and Jongdae?”

“If by that you mean we’ve both decided all of you are dead to us then yes, everything has fallen into place,” Chanyeol said, sipping his too-hot coffee and not looking at Minseok.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that. Both of you are friends with all of us, we were just trying to get you to stop whining and be happy. Plus, I thought you both were cute and would be good together.” He was practicing cooing so Chanyeol decided he might trust him.  _ Might _ .

“Well thanks for that I guess?” Chanyeol said into his coffee.

“I won a few bets too so that worked in my favour,” Minseok said cheerfully, with a lopsided smile. He then had the audacity to wink. Chanyeol would have thought Minseok was above all of that, apparently not.

“I take it back, you’re one of  _ them _ .” He looked over at Kyungsoo and stuck his tongue out. Kyungsoo gave him the finger and went back to organizing the coffee tins.

Minseok laughed. “That aside, have you done anything yet?” he asked, rather brazenly.

“Wh–why is that any of your business?” Chanyeol spluttered, He felt his cheeks heating up again.

“Because I have another bet,” Minseok said simply.

Chanyeol grit his teeth. “I’m not saying anything,”

“Knew you’d say that, Sehun owes me $5. He should have known how mad you’d be after you found out about everything.” Minseok shook his head, “He doesn’t know you at all.”

“That little fucker…” Chanyeol muttered before announcing, “I’m leaving. I have an appointment with Jongdae later, my only friend left. The fact that he’s willing to suck my dick is a bonus none of you ever gave me.”

“Nor would we ever want to,” Kyungsoo called from behind the counter while Minseok howled with laughter.

“You still have one person who might,” Minseok wheezed.

Chanyeol kept walking. “That’s for desperate times only, you know that. He’s a traitor so he can fuck off too.” Chanyeol walked out of the coffee shop without another word. He thought about giving a threat as warning but he didn’t want to actually anger either of them and face the consequences.

 

—

 

“So, have I mentioned I hate our friends,” Chanyeol said from where he was lying on his bed. He was casually strumming his classical guitar, trying not to make too much noise as he practiced. He was trying to memorize the melody he had to perform in class on Friday for an exam. Jongdae had agreed to let him practice guitar quietly while he read for class on the couch.

Chanyeol had been hammering away at the drums for an hour before Jongdae appeared at his door with a kiss and a warning smile, telling him his time was up. He was a little miffed that he was whipped enough for that to work, but he’d practiced enough for today anyway. 

Jongdae looked up at him, “Yes, you’ve mentioned it a few times in the last five minutes,” 

“Good.” Chanyeol strummed his guitar loudly for emphasis.

Jongdae tossed an eraser at him, hitting him in the chest and causing him to scowl. “Good thing I have a good amount of leverage thanks to Baekhyun’s motormouth on top of us both being noisy enough to annoy all of them. Anyway,” Jongdae said, closing his books and standing up, “there are better things to do here than plot murder.”

Chanyeol didn’t expect Jongdae to move this close so quickly. Chanyeol set aside his guitar and looked up at him in anticipation. The tension lasted five whole seconds before Jongdae put a hand on his hip and said, “Don’t get your hopes up, we have a project to finish.”

Chanyeol’s face fell. Jongdae was right, they were behind and needed a few hours of work. They’d spent the past few days working on their other school assignments and needed to make some progress before break. 

Jongdae laughed, “I didn’t say we had to finish it right away, I was kidding.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked, confused.

“Oh, I just had a better idea than homework.” Jongdae said airily, but he now wore a sly smile on his face. 

Chanyeol knew where he was going with that and felt his face heat up. As much he wanted to listen to his dick, his head was dead set on finishing things up. “We can’t, there are too many things to do.”

Jongdae frowned, “You’re no fun.  _ Fine _ , we’ll do work.” Chanyeol swore he heard him mutter, “For now,” under his breath but he might have misheard.

“Yes, we will.” Chanyeol pushed himself up from the bed and walked over to his computer, setting up all of his software. Once he’d pulled up their songs and assembled their lyrics they got down to work.

An hour later Chanyeol was slouched against his desk, unable to think of what to do for the next part. He needed to layer the melody with something but he couldn’t quite figure it out. It was time to call it quits. “I’m done for now,” he said to Jongdae who was working on something else.

Jongdae’s head shot up quickly. “Really?”

“Well yeah, I don’t think I can do any more today.” Chanyeol didn’t know how to feel about the look in Jongdae’s eyes.

“Finally.” Jongdae started moving closer to him again. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything and I thought I’d do something nice before you cut me off. I’ve decided I’ll still do it though, you did work hard,” he said, looming over Chanyeol. 

“Do I want to know what said thing is?” Chanyeol said, one eyebrow cocked.

Jongdae bent down and kissed Chanyeol until he opened up for him and Jongdae could lick into his mouth. Chanyeol was surprised but happy and leaned into the kiss. Jongdae pulled back before Chanyeol could get his arms around him and said, “Oh you definitely do, trust me.”

Jongdae knelt down in front of him and Chanyeol breathed a soft, “Oh.” His dick stirred and began to swell with anticipation at the sight of Jongdae kneeling between his legs.

“I was going to do this earlier but you’re both hopelessly dense and stubborn. We’ll work on that later.” Jongdae gave Chanyeol an expectant look and he realized nothing was going to happen if he didn’t undress first. Chanyeol stood and proceeded to take his jeans off before sitting back down.

Jongdae gave him another impatient look until Chanyeol moved forward pulled himself out of his boxers. Chanyeol wasn’t hard yet but he was well on his way, when Jongdae swatted his hand away and replaced it with his own. He felt himself swelling and hardening in Jongdae’s hand as he started stroking him, slowly at first and then faster, with more confidence. It wasn’t long before his cock was full and hard between them. Satisfied, Jongdae pulled Chanyeol down and gave him a sloppy kiss before returning to his task.

Jongdae wrapped one hand around the base of Chanyeol’s cock and leaned in so his breath ghosted the tip, making Chanyeol shiver. Anchoring Chanyeol with one hand to his hip, Jongdae started licking around the head, teasing the slit with his tongue. Instead of taking Chanyeol’s cock into his mouth like Chanyeol expected, he leaned in to lick long stripes along his full length, following the protruding vein as his other hand pumped at the base. He then pressed a light kiss on Chanyeol’s balls, causing him to jolt, before returning to the head.

Chanyeol had resisted moving until now but he was edging closer and couldn’t keep his hips from bucking forward involuntarily. Jongdae smiled up at him, stopping whatever he was doing, and Chanyeol huffed.

“Please just–,” Chanyeol’s voice was heavy with desperation. He wanted to wind his hands into Jongdae’s hair and make him behave, but he wasn’t sure what might reverse Jongdae’s decision to keep going so he just watched.

Jongdae promptly opened his mouth and took in as much of Chanyeol’s dick as he could, his tongue flat and warm along his length. Jongdae hummed around his dick, causing it to twitch. Chanyeol supposed that meant this was as far as he could handle and nodded. As soon as he did so Jongdae began bobbing back and forth, making up for whatever he couldn’t reach expertly with his other hand.

It was overwhelming and so incredibly hot; Jongdae really had the prettiest mouth. He pulled back to such on the head, licking it thoroughly and playing with the slit with greater attention than before. Bit by bit Jongdae started taking him in again, rubbing his length back and forth against the inside of his cheek and tongue. Chanyeol moaned at the heat and the friction.

“Close,” Chanyeol said with difficulty.

Jongdae hummed again and pulled off entirely, causing Chanyeol to groan at the sudden loss. He peered down to see what Jongdae was doing. When Chanyeol finally got a good view, he saw Jongdae pulling his own painfully hard dick from his boxers. Chanyeol’s mouth went dry, he could have come just from the sight.

Jongdae gave him a sweet smile, forcing his eyes elsewhere. “This is a little uncomfortable and I think coming together is a pretty bro thing to do.” Chanyeol could only stare and nod as Jongdae stroked himself a few times, letting the precum he was leaking act as lube.

Once he was ready, Jongdae returned to his task, enveloping Chanyeol’s dick in warmth again. He wasted no time, holding him firm so he could run his lips along the sides and take Chanyeol’s cock into his mouth again. His other hand stroked himself at the same rhythm he was using to move along Chanyeol’s length. It wasn’t long before he pulled off with warning and Chanyeol was coming in stripes on Jongdae’s face. Jongdae followed soon after as he pumped frantically until he was chasing his own climax.

“Good?” Jongdae asked, trying to clean up.

Chanyeol laughed, “Yeah. Best post-homework activity I’ve ever done.”

Once they’d both cleaned up, Chanyeol he saw Jongdae on his phone and pulled out his own.

 

**GROUP CHAT: Bros *No homo *Maybe a little homo**

_ *jongdae renamed the chat to Bros *full homo* _

–

Chanyeol laughed his ass off from where he was sitting and nearly fell off his chair. Jongdae gave him a cheeky smile. They both waited for any commentary.

–

_ brat: yo. you cant just change the name of the chat _

_ jongdae: sure I can, why? did you have a bet on this too? _

_ brat: yeah, you just made me richer _

_ jongdae: then there’s no problem _

_ brat: fair _

_ yeol: it’s not like you’re not trying for that full homo yourself _

_ yeol: i know a few things _

_ brat: im not ashamed, but if you tell him you’re dead _

_ brat: but this is a group chat, keep your couple shit to your dms _

_ jongdae: cute~ _

_ jongdae: thought you wanted details for your bets? _

_ brat: not if i’m going to lose them _

_ baek: no no please continue, im very interested _

_ yeol: im not saying anything to you conniving manipulator _

_ baek: big words for someone who would still be single without me _

_ yeol: the situation called for big words, fuck off baek _

_ jongdae: let’s leave the details for when we can tell them in person _

_ jongdae: and the punishment _

_ yeol: I like the way you think _

_ brat: oh please no _

_ yeol: :) _

_ jongdae: :D _

“Okay I have to go,” Jongdae said, gathering all of his things. “You have any plans tonight?”

“I’m going to the gym, I promised Sehun. Plus now I have a reason to work on my abs,” Chanyeol winked at Jongdae.

Jongdae paused, as if in thought. “Well, I suppose I do like your abs. I guess I’ll let you work out.” 

Chanyeol laughed, “I’m sure we can find other ways to use these muscles too.” He flexed his biceps for emphasis.

“Sure, sure. For now though I’m going to find some way to convince Baekhyun to play piano for our thing. He’s really pleased with himself for setting  _ this _ ,” Jongdae gestured between the two of them, “up, so I have to hope he doesn’t think of it as a favour to us instead of unnecessary meddling. Though if he helps, his name gets put on the program for more exposure to scouts.

“Godspeed then,” Chanyeol said, giving him a mock salute. Jongdae’s was easily the more difficult of their tasks. He’d rather do push-ups any day.

 

–

 

Chanyeol walked into the gym alone that evening. Sehun was probably going to be late, as usual, but Chanyeol had no plans of meeting him beforehand. He managed to get more information about the nature bets Sehun had made over his relationship with Jongdae out of Minseok, whose bets were pretty nice and reasonable by comparison and likely why he won so much money. After knowing what Sehun had bet on, Chanyeol decided he was dead to him. Why Sehun thought they’d have angry sex while fighting was beyond him.

“Chanyeol?” Junmyeon said from where he sat at the leg press as soon as Chanyeol walked in the door, chasing him from his thoughts.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said without much warmth, waving a hand in greeting. He’d forgotten Junmyeon came to the gym around this time. He rarely ran into him at the gym since he and Sehun usually met in the mornings and cursed himself for not remembering; he’d rather see as little of his friends and acquaintances as possible. 

Chanyeol peered at Junmyeon from where he was stretching until Junmyeon stopped what stopped what he was doing. “Question,” Chanyeol started in a very serious tone, “did you bet on me and Jongdae in that betting pool or whatever?”

Junmyeon’s eyes darted to the side, straying from Chanyeol to his own shoes. “Maybe,” he said in a tiny voice. He, at least, had the good grace to look guilty, which was more than anyone else could attest to.

“Not you too,” Chanyeol moaned. He thought Junmyeon would have abstained. “What did you bet?” Chanyeol asked, unsure if he wanted to know. Knowing Junmyeon it wouldn’t be too bad but one could never tell.

Junmyeon slowly dragged his face up to meet Chanyeol’s. “I only put money that you’d end up together and that you’d be able to get the project done properly, I swear! We’re not even supposed to be gambling, I was sort of forced into it.”

“Forced into it? Just how many bets are there?!”

“You’d be surprised. I was randomly added to the group chat, I didn’t actually want to intervene…honestly, I was actually a little ticked off at you after that project so maybe I was a little more inclined than usual to break rules, but I wanted things to just work out normally for you. I’m not an asshole. They really did work hard to get me into it so I picked wisely, didn’t make much though.”

Chanyeol sighed, reaching for his feet and not quite making it. There was no point in blowing up at someone who clearly wanted no part of it. Junmyeon, whatever he was to Chanyeol, would never do that to Jongdae from what he knew. “You’re forgiven.” Chanyeol muttered.

Junmyeon slouched in relief and gave Chanyeol a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks.”

“Tell the ones who made you do it that they better watch their asses.”

“I don’t think–” Junmyeon started.

Chanyeol gave him a  _ look _ , “Tell me you don’t think they deserve it, tell it to my face.”

Junmyeon frowned, “It’s not like they meant harm, you both ended up together one way or another. It only started after people noticed your relationship was…interesting from the start. You were never supposed to…find…out…oh I see your point.”

“Yeah, and I have a pretty good idea what was in those betting polls, but you would know more than me.”

“I’m not the best person to ask about this, I left pretty quick and got out. It was Yifan who added me thinking I was missing out but he never bet anything and just left. I removed myself from the chat when it started spamming me with notifications. They never shut up, you know that.” 

As frustrated as he was, Chanyeol figured interrogating Junmyeon wasn’t going to get him very far, he’d have to wait for Sehun to do that. Chanyeol gave Junmyeon a polite smile and said, “I guess I’ll have to ask Sehun when he gets here.”

“I see well, good luck with that,” Junmyeon said, setting up a rowing machine.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol said before he headed to the treadmill. He pulled out his headphones and started setting them up with his phone.

“Oh, and Chanyeol!” Junmyeon called. Chanyeol turned around abruptly, “For what it’s worth, I’m really happy for you both!” He was smiling so big Chanyeol couldn’t help but return it. He  _ was _ happy being together with Jongdae and it was nice to hear someone say they felt the same so genuinely. Chanyeol kept walking, feeling a little lighter as he reached a treadmill and started his warm-up.

Ten minutes later he heard Junmyeon’s voice through his ear buds. “Sehun!” 

Chanyeol turned around to see Sehun walking into the gym, late.

“Hey Junmyeon,” Sehun said in greeting before turning slowly towards where Chanyeol was running. Chanyeol caught the ghost of the smile Sehun had given Junmyeon before it left his face. Chanyeol would have thought it sweet if his bad mood from earlier hadn’t returned..

“Yo,” Sehun said to Chanyeol as he made his way over.

Chanyeol turned off the machine. “How come he gets a smile and a proper greeting?”

Sehun glanced back at Junmyeon who was rowing again and back to Chanyeol. “Because he’s nice to me and prettier than you obviously,” Sehun said easily.

“So not because you like him?” Chanyeol said, raising his brows.

Sehun frowned at Chanyeol but turned away as he said, “Just because I can recognize superior human beings does not lean I  _ like _ them. I’m already seeing someone anyway.”

“I know for a fact you’re single now,” Chanyeol said with a laugh. This only earned him an even deeper frown. “You’d be cute together,” Chanyeol added, actually meaning it. Junmyeon brought out Sehun’s softer side and he was actually kind of cute when it happened.

“What do you really want Chanyeol?” Sehun looked up at him just before he started up the machine beside the one Chanyeol was standing on.

Chanyeol sighed. “I want to know what you bet on, what all of you bet on. Even Junmyeon ended up having to bet, it’s ridiculous! Minseok told me a few of yours.”

“Junmyeon bet?” he asked with his eyebrows raised.

“Didn’t you know? I thought you were one of the ones who dragged him into it.”

Sehun was looking at him like he was out of his mind so he just continued.

“He didn’t bet on much anyway so it doesn’t matter. I’m just curious.”

Sehun gave him an exasperated sort of look and answered, “Fine, I bet on a bunch of trivial things just for the sake of it. Some were…interesting but most of them were fine.”

“That really vague,” Chanyeol said with suspicion.

Sehun gave smiled, “We’re in public. Besides, you’ve bet on weird things too, it’s not like it means anything. You just want to know how nosy we are.”

“I do,” Chanyeol answered seriously.

“Tell me what you bet on and I might tell you what I did.” Sehun’s breaths were coming in shorter as he ran.

To keep from cooling down, Chanyeol was walking on his own machine. “The last thing _ I _ bet on was you and Junmyeon getting together, Jongin doesn’t believe it’ll happen and I’m up for twenty dollars if it does.” Chanyeol had no reason to lie, Junmyeon was pretty sad after he’d broken up with his last girlfriend and reportedly wasn’t looking for girls at the moment. He was also very fond of Sehun. Whatever his feelings towards either of them at varying points in time, Chanyeol did want them to be happy. He wasn’t about to go as far as to explicitly set them up though, that would be  _ rude _ .

Sehun looked over at Junmyeon again and Chanyeol smiled. He wiped it away when Sehun looked back at him. “I knew it, you’re just as bad as we are. Remember what happened when Baekhyun was dating that upper year girl? It’s pretty much the same as back then except I may have money on who tops, not that I’ll tell you.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth to argue when Sehun interrupted him, “I wasn’t one of the people who interfered, I was just  _ watching. _ ”

Chanyeol considered this and decided to let it go. “I know, I know. I won’t do anything. Let’s get started,” he said before they walked over to the weights.

This whole betting business was stupid but he was just as guilty of doing it, as Sehun had kindly reminded him. He should probably just let this go even if he felt used, but it could wait until he and Jongdae got some small revenge.

 

–

 

Chanyeol stood waiting outside the large, stone Music building where Jongdae was having his final lecture of the day. It was snowing heavily and he could see each breath as it met the cold air. Large drifts had started to form throughout the day and Chanyeol was suddenly struck with inspiration. Abandoning his post underneath the overhang by the door, he walked over to one of the larger drifts and started assembling a tightly packed snowball. What better way to start a relationship off than another good fight? Snowball fights were an essential part of winter after all.

Moments later, a hoard of students exited the building, bundled up against the cold. Chanyeol hid himself quickly and waited. Jongdae was whistling to himself as he walked out, and turned in the direction of their apartment building, where he likely assumed Chanyeol would be waiting. He looked a little tired, but still in a good enough mood to keep Chanyeol from abandoning his plan.

*Whack* the snowball hit Jongdae squarely in the shoulder, causing snow to spray up onto his face and glasses and into his hair. He yelped and quickly tried to shake off as much of the cold snow as possible, glancing around for his assailant. His eyes fell on Chanyeol and went wide with shock before they narrowed in anger.

Chanyeol had already burst out in laughter at the shock on Jongdae’s face when he met his mark and doubled over as Jongdae spluttered in search of something to say. Instead, he closed his mouth, gave a quick smirk, and raced over to the nearest drift in a matter of seconds. Chanyeol could barely right himself from his laughing fit, doubling over again. As a result, Jongdae’s snowball hit him square in the back instead of the back of his head, where Jongdae had clearly been aiming.

“What the fuck Chanyeol?!” he asked even as he moved to prepare another, larger snowball.

“It was just a joke!” Chanyeol said, trying to hide his glee as he began to assemble three balls for rapid fire in retaliation.

Chanyeol was fast but, unfortunately, Jongdae was faster. He thought Jongdae would throw the ball in his hand immediately, but when he didn’t, Chanyeol raced forward and threw one snowball after another. Jongdae was annoyingly good at dodging and managed to avoid getting hit at all, cackling every time Chanyeol missed.

“You’ll have to do better than that!” Jongdae yelled as he closed in on an empty handed Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol tried running but it was too late, Jongdae had grabbed his arm with one hand and yanked him backwards. “Wai-,” was all he had time to say before Jongdae reaches up and mashed the ball of lightly packed snow into the back of his head.

“Argh,” he sputtered, trying to shake off the snow and get it out of his mouth and keep it from falling into his coat.

Jongdae, who was still holding onto his arm, laughed loudly. “Serves you right!”

“You will pay for that!” Chanyeol muttered, trying to pull away from Jongdae but he had a vice-like grip on Chanyeol’s arm and refused to let him get anywhere near the snow. Chanyeol tugged harder. “Let, mmrghf, me go!”

“Nope,” Jongdae said, letting him struggle a bit longer before pulling him in closer and using his other hand to grab the front of Chanyeol’s coat.

Up close, Chanyeol could see the snow on Jongdae’s glasses and small flakes on his surprisingly long lashes–why hadn’t he noticed before. He was tempted to dust the snow out of Jongdae’s hair but the sudden closeness made it hard to breathe, let alone move. 

“I’m cold and tired now so I think we should just say I won this round,” Jongdae said, snapping him out of it. He tugged Chanyeol downward before he could protest and pulled him into a kiss. 

Chanyeol was vaguely aware of their surroundings, and checked to see if anyone had seen, but they were the only ones still out in the cold. Jongdae placed his hands on either side of Chanyeol’s head to force him to focus on his boyfriend. Obeying, he wrapped his arms around Jongdae and kissed him deeper. Jongdae’s lips were warm despite the cold and Chanyeol found himself chasing the heat.

They broke apart. “No more snowball fights,” Jongdae said with a smile, brushing the snow from Chanyeol’s hair and shoulders.

“Oh I dunno, if they’re going to end like that…” he trailed off with a cheeky grin.

WIthout missing a beat, Jongdae reached into his pocket, pulling out snow he must have stuffed in there while they were gathering ammo. He stood on his toes trying to get it down Chanyeol’s back but he wasn’t quick enough to reach.

“Fucking giant…” Jongdae muttered.

It was Chanyeol’s turn to laugh this time. When he calmed down he said, “Come on we need to get to the traitors’ house for revenge.”

Jongdae nodded and they both fell in line together as they walked through the snow. He could see Jongdae hesitating out of the corner of his eyes and he was about to turn and ask why when he felt Jongdae’s fingers intertwine with his. He smiled warmly at Jongdae and squeezed his hand in response.

“You know,” Jongdae said, swinging their linked arms, “I really wish we could have done this sort of thing sooner.”

“What do you mean?”

“Things that don’t involve yelling at each other through a wall and you being dead set on hating me. Kissing, for example, and whatever else,” he added flashing Chanyeol a wry smile. Chanyeol felt his cheeks heat up despite the cold. He avoided looking at Jongdae and looked to the sky instead. He thought for a moment and then decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a while. “You said this–you liking me–was something that started when we met, was that for real?”

“Well,” Jongdae said thoughtfully, “I’d heard good things about you beforehand and was excited to meet you from the start. When I did, you were taller and hotter than I expected, wearing one of those black t-shirts, the tight ones, with your tattoos on display. I could hear you were talented before it got on my nerves…I dunno, it was a bunch of things.”

Chanyeol was at a loss and felt himself getting shy. Jongdae nudged him playfully. “Okay maybe that’s not all of it. You’re actually really sweet too and a good friend, but I only found that out later through other people. When I combined the two I was full homo in “like” with you and it was more than a crush. I guess the second part would be when Baekhyun was trying to convince me to make our “truce.”Jongdae’s own cheeks got pink as he rushed through what he had to say.

“Seriously?” Chanyeol asked.

Jongdae smiled, “There’s also the fact that I was very much interested after I found out you were the tall guy in Baek’s stories, but I don’t want you to think I want you for your body and the things I’ve heard you can do with your hands. But I told you this already.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “Yes, so please stop reminding me he told you. I’m glad he never mentioned my name. I’d never live that down.”

“No promises. There’s a lot of things you’ll never live down if all of it was true.” Chanyeol glared at him but he continued, “But, there are a few things on your  _ list _ that I want to try. He talked about a lot of things and I was intrigued.”

“We don’t talk about the list.” Chanyeol said immediately. He tried to tug his hand out of Jongdae’s to make a point but he couldn’t extract it.

“Oh yes we do,” Jongdae said, pulling Chanyeol’s hand into his pocket, “but we’ll get to that later.”

Chanyeol decided to change the subject, “That’s a long time to like someone who hated you. What about the whole fight over the noise?”

“Not really, it was like one, two months? Sure, I was annoyed and a little hurt you were being an ass and being loud on purpose–don’t think I don’t know that’s what you were doing. I’m not innocent myself, so I couldn’t blame you entirely, you know what I mean?” Chanyeol nodded. “I had it bad enough that I started to not even mind the drums by the end of it. I really did want to make it work, even if you were  _ infuriating _ and  _ impossible _ .”

“That’s so touching,” Chanyeol said earnestly. He didn’t know what else to say, he couldn’t believe this was what Jongdae was actually thinking the entire time, no matter how many times he heard it; it made him feel like he was floating on air.

Chanyeol had one sticking point, “So you were all in for the noise thing?”

“Yeah, it was kind of fun beneath how irritating it was. I got to sing as loud as I wanted, which made me happy just as much as it made you mad. I liked interacting with you in any way I could and that was the only option since we never talked, nor did our friends ever bring us together. I hated losing too, but not as much as you do.”

It was such a weird thing to bring them together that it felt special. Getting to go all out was indeed a great perk of the war, or whatever it was.

“You?” Jongdae asked quietly.

“When did I start liking you? Or why did I start liking you?” Jongdae nodded so Chanyeol guessed he meant both. He forgot he’d never explained himself to Jongdae properly. “Oh, uh, you’ve probably guessed this by now but it was a lot later, after we’d been working on the project for a while. There wasn’t really a specific thing, it just sort of happened over time. I noticed it when we were around other people and I couldn’t stop paying attention to you.” Chanyeol thought about continuing his thought and then went for it, “I will say that I did think you were kinda hot from the start.” That was the first time Chanyeol had admitted that to anyone. Then he added, “In a full homo ‘I hate you but you have a nice ass and are maybe my type but I won’t admit it’ kind of way.” After he’d said that his face was burning and he regretted opening his mouth at all.

Jongdae cackled, “Yeah I kind of figured. You are probably the least subtle person out there. I could feel your eyes watching me. I tried giving you hints but you’re an idiot.”

“I’d take offense to that if Kyungsoo didn’t spend half of his time telling me that anyway.” Chanyeol stepped over a large puddle of slush and held out his hand to assist Jongdae over it.

Jongdae looked happy but at the same time he said, “You better not have done that because you think my legs are short.” Chanyeol laughed, giving him his answer. “Whatever…what I was saying was that I wish I’d had a childhood friend like Kyungsoo. All I have is Baekhyun, whose advice should always be taken with a great deal of caution.”

“I learned that the hard way,” Chanyeol said, grimacing at an old memory. The snow was falling harder now so he let go of Jongdae’s hand and pulled his hat from his pocket, tugging it down over his hair. He caught Jongdae’s hand with his own again.

“Tell me about it. When we were experimenting around in high school…wait, first off never tell anyone about this unless you’re using it against Baek.”

Chanyeol nodded hastily, he wanted to hear more since Jongdae never talked about it and he was more than a little curious.

“Okay. So basically, he wasn’t even useful. He had absolutely zero idea what he was doing and was hopelessly clumsy. It was cute but we had a lot to figure out and I learned faster than he did. It was all, of course, in the name of science, we never dated.”

Chanyeol thought about it for a moment. “You’re a better kisser than he was so that makes sense.”

Jongdae practically radiated smugness before saying, “Oh I know I am, among other things.” He waggled his eyebrows and Chanyeol smacked his arm. Jongdae was definitely better at teasing, he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad yet. “I have to admit he’s better at hickies though,” Jongdae added in afterthought.

Chanyeol laughed, “Ah yes, I have so many scarves now.”

“Same. I had to explain to my teachers why I needed to cover so much of my skin.”

When they finally reached the apartment, they both rushed inside and up the stairs. Chanyeol had been here enough times that he simply opened the door, knowing it would be unlocked. They hadn’t been around this many of their friends since they started dating so he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

–

At some point in the evening, after they’d all stuffed themselves with pizza Junmyeon had brought, Chanyeol ended up lying on the couch with Jongdae draped over him. Sehun sat on the other end wearing a disgusted look as he watched their blatant PDA. Minseok was sitting in the ancient armchair beside Sehun, nursing a beer and watching them with a considerably warmer expression. Together, they were all watching Baekhyun kick Jongin’s ass at Mario Kart, which at this point wasn’t even funny, just sad.

“So, since both parties are here, what’s going on with you two now?” Minseok asked, looking at both Chanyeol and Jongdae.  _ Of course _ he was the one who was going to ask so blatantly, being so close to Jongdae.

Chanyeol had expected questions tonight, lots of questions, but he’d prefer it if he’d had a few more beers before they began. He’s expected questions tonight, lots of questions, since they weren’t in public and had nowhere to run.

Jongdae glared at Minseok, “Wouldn’t  _ you _ like to know? Chanyeol told me the last time he said anything to you, the main reason you asked was so you could win a bet.”

“The whole betting thing was a joke, it wasn’t supposed to be serious,” Minseok said defensively.

Sehun snorted, “Don’t try and sugarcoat it, we just thought you guys were funny and it just happened. I already told Chanyeol this, why are you bringing it up again?”

“Because it still annoys us,” Chanyeol replied. Jongdae patted his thigh so he figured that was the right response. Truthfully, he was over the bets, he would have bet too if he was in their position.

Chanyeol cleared his throat and moved on to the next matter at hand. “What I find even more annoying is the fact that my ex spent this entire time trying to set me up with his childhood friend without telling either of us.” He was, of course, ignored but he could tell Baekhyun heard him even while concentrating on the game.

“Yeah, if I was going to get into his pants it’d be via my own efforts  _ Baekhyun. _ ” Baekhyun ignored Jongdae as well.

Chanyeol however was touched, “Aww, babe.” Jongdae gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Sehun pretended to gag and said “Disgusting, I need an adult.”

Victory music began to play, indicating Baekhyun had just won this round. Jongin was collapsed on the carpet in defeat.

Baekhyun put down his controller and, without missing a beat, said, “You called?”

“A real adult, not a man-child,” Sehun deadpanned. “Where’s Kyungsoo?” When he got no reply, Sehun got up off the couch to find him and Baekhyun took his place, despite Jongdae’s efforts to kick him off.

“Fuck off Sehun, I’m more adult than you’ll ever be. Anyway, you two are both happy and disgusting and in love, I really don’t see the problem here. As far as I see it, I did you a favour. Sure, I said a few things, forced you to talk to each other, orchestrated a few happenings, and whatever but I didn’t do everything,” Baekhyun was still trying to have a foot war with Jongdae so his sentence came in fragments as he struggled, giving Chanyeol time to organize his thoughts.

Before Chanyeol could talk Minseok cut in, “We, as in the rest of us, didn’t really do anything.”

Jongin nodded in agreement as he stood from where he’d been lying in defeat. “He’s right,” was all he said before walking over to where one of the dogs was chewing on something. Probably to make sure it wasn’t something dangerous and definitely because he wanted to get away from this conversation.

Jongdae narrowed his eyes at Minseok.

“I’m serious, at first I just thought Baekhyun was being weird because of the whole ex-boyfriend thing.” Minseok paused, looking at Chanyeol and Jongdae with something that looked a little like guilt. “Except the coffee shop thing, I did that with Kyungsoo, but we really did need people and you would have ended up being dragged in anyway. Plus, it was really cute.”

“How much money did you make off that?” Jongdae asked.

With how “in-love” Chanyeol had been told they looked, he wouldn’t be surprised that was when people started getting invested.

Minseok grinned, “A lot. ”Jongdae threw a pillow at him. “Because the cafe was packed of course, I’m not heartless and there was no reason for me to expect what happened. I meant it when I said it was sweet.”

“But the original duet back at the party was my idea,” Baekhyun said proudly. Chanyeol didn’t know what he was talking about until he remembered when he was forced to sing with Jongdae before Kyungsoo dragged him home.

“You did that on purpose?! You fed me drinks until I was too drunk to refuse and then had me sing with  _ him _ ! Do you have any idea how mortified I was!” Jongdae sat up and glared daggers at Baekhyun, who did not look guilty in the slightest.

“Just let me explain,” Baekhyun said, catching Jongdae’s flailing wrists with his hands. “You were both so mad at each other I thought it’d be funny, especially since Jongdae liked you so much for some unknown reason. Yeol was too good to be wasting away like the sexually frustrated loser he was, so I decided to intervene in a way that was good for everyone. It was sweet to be honest, you sang so well together.” He wiped away a fake tear for effect.

“I swear to god Baekhyun, I’m never letting you talk me into things again. I  _ knew _ something was weird that night. This is the  _ fifth _ time you’ve done this to me whenever I liked someone. Minseok isn’t even into men and you tried to set us up.” Chanyeol’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he tried not to laugh.

Minseok howling at the two of them and sobered up enough to say, “It was a nice dinner though, even if I had to decline your goodbye kiss.”

Jongdae was still restrained by Baekhyun so all he could do was tell Minseok to shut up and keep drinking. Minseok only laughed harder until Baekhyun started laughing too and then Chanyeol as well, once he saw the sour look on Jongdae’s face.

“Why are you angry  _ now _ ? That was like the first thing that happened.” Baekhyun asked, trying and failing to let go of Jongdae without being hit. Jongdae managed to cuff him in the ear before giving up and leaning against Chanyeol again. “Oww…you  _ knew _ that I knew that you liked him the entire time, and every other time for that matter, because you told me from the start. I was trying to be a good friend to both of you and set you up.”

Jongdae twitched. “I thought I told you what would happen if you tried that again, the last time it happened.”

Ready for this conversation to end to prevent further injury, despite interest in Jongdae’s past love life, Chanyeol asked, “Where the fuck is Soo? Sehun was supposed to find him. I want to hear his side of the story.”

Minseok looked around and said, “Well, he’s not with Sehun and I can’t see him from here.”

“He can’t have left,” Chanyeol said, trying to twist beneath Jongdae so he could look as well.

“He better not leave me with  _ this _ ,” Baekhyun muttered, earning another swat from Jongdae. “Ow!”

“Oh!” Minseok’s eyes went wide as they slid to Chanyeol’s left.

Kyungsoo had seated himself in the other, slightly less beaten, armchair and was looking at them all curiously. It didn’t take long for him to figure out what they were talking about or to choose an initial target. “Chanyeol if you’re still mad about this I’d like to remind you that you’ve been complaining about not having a significant other since you and Baekhyun split because of ‘mutual reasons that do not concern you.’ Your spat with Jongdae was the most annoying thing to ever happen. If you want to not be happy with your pretty, new boyfriend then be my guest.”

Jongdae turned and fluttered his eyelashes, “Chanyeol you can’t be mad at him, he called me pretty.”

Chanyeol barked out a laugh, which melted into a smile. “He did, and he was right.”

“Gross.”

“Shut up Baekhyun,” Jongdae and Chanyeol said in unison, without looking at him.

“So in sync,” Baekhyun hummed suggestively and they all groaned.

Chanyeol looked over at Kyungsoo again and said, “I’m still a little mad, mostly because I know you did this in part so we could hang out peacefully but I shall forgive you.”

“How gracious of you,” Kyungsoo said flatly.

Chanyeol sighed dramatically with a hand on his heart,“I know.”

“On a different note, tell us, how far have you gone? I need to know for science.” Baekhyun asked, earning himself a smack. The twinkling in his eyes made it pretty clear he would be hard to deter.

“You mean a bet.” Chanyeol corrected, holding Jongdae back before he beat Baekhyun to a pulp.

Baekhyun backed away from Jongdae. “No, I really did mean for science.”

“I need to know but not for science,” Sehun called over from the dining table. He and Jongin–and probably Zitao before he’d left–had been playing cards and Chanyeol wondered if they’d been listening listening the entire time. Junmyeon, too, had gone suspiciously quiet in the kitchen.

Jongin shoved Sehun and looked over at them, “Please don’t tell him, I can’t afford to lose! I still have to pay the rent!”

Chanyeol wheeled on him, “I thought better of you Jongin.”

Jongin shrugged, “I’m sorry, we were bored and had nothing else to talk about.”

“You should have just played with your dogs like good children and not discussed your friends’ sex lives.”

Sehun too was sitting at the table finishing off a slice of pizza. He swallowed and added, “We’re capable of multitasking. What else are we supposed to talk about when neither of you are there to generate noise?”

“Definitely not this,” Jongdae muttered. Then in a louder voice he added “If you really want to know I can tell you.”

“Oh? So, it’s more than making out?” Baekhyun asked, interested.

“You betcha.”

Chanyeol poked Jongdae in the side, “Don’t tell them anything, I feel exposed enough as is.”

“Boo!” Baekhyun yelled. This time Minseok hit him, but it wasn’t with much heart.

Jongdae met Chanyeol’s eyes with a grin, “Why? It’s not like any of them are getting any, might as well give them a glimpse of what they’re missing out on.” He planted a kiss on Chanyeol’s mouth, just deep enough to make his point.

Chanyeol laughed before pulling him in once more. “True.”

“Whoever said they’d be worse together was right,” Jongin mumbled. Sehun nodded in agreement.

“I’m insulted, we’re great together. For example, Jongdae is great at giving blowjobs and I am all the better for it. I’d say us getting together was for the greater good.” Chanyeol waited for his words to sink in.

This time Kyungsoo groaned first. “Literally none of us needed to know that.”

Instead of interest of disgust like the rest of them, Baekhyun just grinned and high fived Chanyeol. “Nice! He really is great, isn’t he?” he said with pride.

“No thanks to you,” Jongdae added.

Baekhyun frowned, “We were  _ practice partners _ , I’m not a doll.”

“Okay, okay, fine. Thank you Baekhyun for your contributions to my dick sucking skills…which are oh so much better than yours.”

“I’d be insulted if it wasn’t true.”

“All the better for me,” Chanyeol said and the three of them started laughing.

It might not have been a bad thing to have Baekhyun set this up in the first place, not that Chanyeol would ever tell him that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to K for being here and S for looking through this mess - you're both the best.
> 
> ** My Main Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** Writing Twitter [carpedaem](https://twitter.com/carpedaem)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rises from the dead*
> 
> I told you I wasn’t done with this fic and now I am here to deliver. I'm sorry it's late, I’ve been on vacation working on fest fics recently so I’ve only been able to write this in-between everything. 
> 
> Anyway, the slow burn is over, so it’s time for gross romance and smut. And Yixing, because he's back.
> 
> Special thanks to S, who waited patiently for me, and L who looked this over (yes, this chapter is beta-d). Thanks also to those of you who told me you enjoyed this fic thus far, it was a huge motivator and I love you all (you know who you are).
> 
> Fair warning, the initial inspiration for this fic back in March was our "Campus Couple" in Exo’s Ladder. It gets more apparent from here on.

Chanyeol waved goodbye to his mother as she drove away after promising he’d call more this semester and come home more often, so she could send him back with food. He waved as she left and, once her car had turned out of sight, he picked up his luggage and guitar case and started lugging them up the stairs into the building. With his backpack and his suitcase together, he nearly fell over from the weight and was hoping against hope that the elevator was working now.

Their two weeks of winter break had been excruciatingly long and, while Chanyeol had enjoyed the time away from school work, and had been sad watching his mother leave, he was glad to finally be back. This, of course, was more related to Jongdae than anything else, but he missed his friends too. 

Two days before their final exams, Jongdae decided that he should probably tell Chanyeol that he was leaving for Korea just after his last exam and would be there the entire break. With that one sentence, all of Chanyeol’s sweet, cheesy holiday plans for them went down the drain.

Chanyeol understood the necessities of spending time with relatives considering he had spent ample time with his own, but that didn’t keep Chanyeol from missing him every waking, and sometimes not-waking, minute they were apart. It was so bad that his sister refused to let him say Jongdae’s name aloud in her presence by the end of it.

To make matters worse, Chanyeol couldn’t properly get in touch with Jongdae, despite current technological advancements in communication technology. He’d taken Jongdae’s near-constant presence for granted until he was trying to coordinate Facetime calls with someone on the other side of the world who was equally busy with relatives at all hours of the day. 

It was 10pm the first time Chanyeol called Jongdae, and it was the first of several unfortunate instances of poor timing. When he picked up the call, Jongdae was in the middle of entertaining a gaggle of small children, which was incredibly cute to watch in Chanyeol’s opinion, but he had been hoping to catch Jongdae alone.

Things didn’t work the other way around either. The first time Jongdae called  _ him _ , he was sitting next to his grandmother, who proceeded to bombard Jongdae with questions as soon as she found out he was Korean. In the end, only some of their calls worked out and all of them were forced to remain strictly PG, much to Chanyeol’s dismay. 

Chanyeol had just finished moving his luggage into his room–just as messy as it had been when he left–when his phone buzzed. Only a few people had kept up with him during the break and he decided he could let them wait until he was done putting his things “away.”

Chanyeol was stuffing underwear into a drawer, after making a conscious decision to make some sort of winter cleaning effort because he ran out of room on the top of his dresser, when his phone buzzed twice in a row. Chanyeol carefully put the last pair in the drawer and pushed it shut, pulling out his phone at the same time, ready to shoot off something sarcastic if whatever he saw was stupid. Unless it was Jongdae, but he was supposed to be on a plane right now.

 

**MESSAGE: yixing**

 

_ yixing: hey Chanyeol good news _

_ yixing: I’m coming back from China a few days before break ends _

_ yixing: we should hang out, you can bring Jongdae too!! ^^ _

 

_ yeol: what? _

_ yeol: i thought you were gone for the year _

 

_ yixing: nah it was only one semester _

_ yixing: don’t worry i have a place though _

_ yixing: oh no I think they lost my luggage _

 

Chanyeol looked at his phone, puzzled. How on earth did Yixing know Jongdae and, more importantly, how did he know they were dating? Chanyeol stared at the screen for a few moments longer and decided the matter could wait until Jongdae and/or Yixing got here. Yixing was probably one more addition to their growing list of mutual friends that he had no idea about.

 

–

 

Two days later Chanyeol got an ominous text message reading “the hall,” from an unknown number. A chill went down Chanyeol’s spine. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to prank him like this, but, even if he did go in prepared, he’d probably end up being surprised anyway. Besides, he had an idea who it was.

“Chanyeol!” a voice called from the other end of the hall. Jongdae was speeding towards him, suitcase in tow, with a big grin on his face.

Not even a second late Chanyeol was beaming back. Chanyeol wasted no time and strode towards Jongdae, wrapping him into a huge bear hug. Jongdae’s luggage fell to the floor as he hugged back just as fiercely.

“You’re home!” Chanyeol said, unable to hide his glee.

“Chanyeol, you’re suffocating me,” Jongdae’s muffled voice came from where his face was buried in Chanyeol’s sweater.

Chanyeol quickly jumped back, his hands still resting on Jongdae’s shoulders . He was struggling not to wrap himself around him again and feel his warmth after so long. He was itching to get his mouth on Jongdae’s, but he supposed he should say some sort of greeting first. “Welcome back,” he said breathless from his sprint.

“Good to be back,” Jongdae said with a grin. In no time at all, his arms were around Chanyeol’s neck and pulling him into the kiss Chanyeol had been longing for all throughout the two weeks they were apart. It was clumsy and they were both smiling way too much, but it felt right.

“So,” Chanyeol said, his voice hoarse because maybe he was getting a little emotional, ”It’s been a while. How was your flight?” He didn’t push away from Jongdae, holding him tight with hands on the small of Jongdae’s back.

“Too long and exhausting,” Jongdae said with a pout that just made Chanyeol want to kiss him even more. He saw no reason not to take up this opportunity and kissed him until he was once again smiling against Chanyeol’s lips.

Eventually, they made it back to Jongdae’s room, Chanyeol helping with Jongdae’s bags. They moved quickly, eager to continue their makeout session. Jongdae insisted on putting a few things away first, so Chanyeol was forced to wait on the sofa. He glowered intensely while Jongdae laughed at him, moving even slower to frustrate him more.

“Just finish already or I’ll go back to my room and lock you out!” Chanyeol announced when he couldn’t handle it anymore.

Jongdae finally finished and flopped down next to him. “Are you sure you want you want to do that?” he said in Chanyeol’s ear, his voice low. Chanyeol shivered while Jongdae cackled, mischief in his eyes.

“What are you trying to say?” Chanyeol asked, narrowing his eyes. 

His question was ignored as Jongdae sat up and snaked his arms around Chanyeol’s neck. His lips met Chanyeol’s, impatient and eager and so unlike his earlier teasing, yet still very “him.” Chanyeol loved it. Jongdae kept pressing forward until Chanyeol was falling backwards onto the couch beneath him. He struggled to keep them both from rolling off the couch entirely by holding Jongdae steady. Jongdae didn’t break the kiss, even while climbing over Chanyeol until their limbs were intertwined, warm bodies pressed together.

Chanyeol wondered if Jongdae could feel how fast his heart was beating through his chest, if he knew how he was undoing Chanyeol with his tongue every time he licked into his mouth, with every slide of his lips, with the way his fingers felt as they ran through his hair. He had no way of asking and no way to convey any of this except to respond just as eagerly. His own hands explored Jongdae’s body as if trying to map every curve, measure each part of him.

From where his hands spread across the width of Jongdae’s narrow waist, he brushed the sliver of skin above his waistband as he reached to grip Jongdae’s ass. Jongdae hummed, half pleasure and half annoyance. This was supposed to be his game today, but Chanyeol hated losing.

When they broke apart, panting and dishevelled, Jongdae pushed himself up using Chanyeol’s shoulders, so he could look down at the Chanyeol’s face. His eyes were dark and heavy lidded, giving Chanyeol a heady look that sent a thrum of anticipation through his body. 

“You know  _ exactly _ what I’m trying to say Chanyeol,” Jongdae finally said, answering Chanyeol’s earlier question. He ground his hips down, pressing his clothed length against Chanyeol’s hip, with his thigh digging into Chanyeol’s hardening cock. Chanyeol choked out a moan.

“Can we…?” Chanyeol began breathlessly after he stopped seeing stars. A wave of heat rolled through him as Jongdae didn’t stop moving his hips. He held his breath as he tried not to moan from the distracting stimulation. He’d been thinking about sex with Jongdae break and, from what Jongdae had told him during their brief Facetime sessions, he had been too. Now it was time to make good on promises.

Jongdae looked straight into Chanyeol’s eyes, his expression serious, and deadpanned, “Not even jet lag will stop me.”

Chanyeol laughed, and gave him a wolfish grin, “Excellent!”

Not missing a beat, Jongdae pushed himself up and off of Chanyeol, who felt the loss of his weight with disappointment. He looked up at Jongdae and smirked, now that he could see the full effect of their makeout session. Jongdae’s hair was a complete mess and his lips were puffy and red from kissing; the overall effect was incredibly cute. Chanyeol felt a wave of affection come over him, and he wanted nothing more than to pull him back down and continue to kiss him until they were both out of breath and dizzy. 

Without realizing, Chanyeol reached out a hand to grab Jongdae’s forearm as he moved away. Jongdae gently removed it and Chanyeol looked at him with confusion before realizing that he was still wearing the same lustful expression that he’d worn earlier.Chanyeol had to remind himself that this was only the beginning. He swallowed. “So how are we going to do this?”

Jongdae looked pointedly at his bed, where a pile of folded linens sat on an empty mattress. “I haven’t made my bed yet,” he stated.

“And?” Chanyeol said, sitting up in confusion. The bed wasn’t unusable after all.

“Did you lose the ability to think with your upper brain?” Jongdae asked as he swatted Chanyeol’s arm. “There are two beds between us, and only one currently has a mattress protector.”

Chanyeol frowned but acknowledged that Jongdae had a point. He sat up properly, hissing as his cock rubbed against the unforgiving fabric of his jeans. Jongdae had the gall to laugh at him until Chanyeol reached out to pull at Jongdae’s sweats and got a yelp and a dirty look for his trouble. He needed both of their clothes off yesterday and Jongdae was taking too damn long getting to the point. He was done jacking off in showers at home with Jongdae’s name on the tip of his tongue, he needed the real thing.

“Shit.” A horrible thought hit him like a freight train and he nearly tripped over the coffee table on his way to the door.

“Careful!” Jongdae exclaimed, arms out to catch him. When it was clear Chanyeol was fine, he asked, “What is it?”

“I’m almost out of lube,” Chanyeol said with horror. He hadn’t thought to buy any more with the semester being over, which was completely stupid considering he had been hoping for something like this to happen ever since they started dating for real. Unfortunately, it was probably the “hoping” that led him to this situation.

“Oh? And why might that be?” Jongdae asked with raised eyebrows. His tone indicated he knew very well where it had all gone and he was just being an ass. He cocked his head and waited for an answer, looking infuriatingly innocent.

“Might have used it up,” Chanyeol said without meeting Jongdae’s eyes.

Jongdae snorted, “Yeah I bet you did, I could hear you through the walls.”

Chanyeol looked aghast, “We don’t talk about that. It’s not like I never heard you! You’re loud even in the shower.”

Jongdae’s cheeks went a little pink but he didn’t budge. To be fair, it wasn’t that embarrassing all things considered, except for one factor.

Chanyeol grinned, “Don’t tell me, did you get off to me?”

Jongdae shrugged, but he didn’t quite meet Chanyeol’s eyes. His cheeks got considerably redder though and Chanyeol’s mouth curled into a smile. He knew Jongdae had already liked him for a while before Chanyeol had even started thinking about him in this context.

“I’m not saying I did and I’m not saying I didn’t,” Jongdae said with very, very fake nonchalance.

“Mmm hmm,” Chanyeol hummed.

Jongdae seemed to be considering something, and it was a moment before he said anything. “Fine, I won’t deny it,” he said with a firm set to his mouth, then he looked up at Chanyeol with gleaming eyes, “But Chanyeol, you might not want to say any name out loud when you finger yourself, it’s very distracting.”

Chanyeol gaped. He had nothing,  _ nothing _ to say to that. His cheeks heated up even as he tried not to react. He remembers what he said every time he fucked himself with his fingers imagining it was Jongdae doing it, every single word, but he didn’t think he’d said them out loud. The resulting image of Jongdae getting off on the other side of the wall sent a wave of arousal through him.

“Jongdae…” Chanyeol said, though it sounded more like a choke. He had no idea what he looked like because he was going for murderous but his mind wasn’t letting him feel anything but lust and affection for the person before him.

Jongdae seemed to come to a sudden decision and spun Chanyeol towards the door. “Okay, okay go to your room, I’ll be there in a second.”

“Wait,” Jongdae said when Chanyeol’s hand his the doorknob. “You’re, uh, good to go for this right?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened a little, “Shit…yeah, I’m good don’t worry.”

Jongdae nodded with a sigh of relief. Chanyeol was thankful his boyfriend was good at thinking ahead. “Ok, now go,” Jongdae said with the same urgency as before.

Chanyeol didn’t need to be told twice. He made the short walk to his room, pulling off his sweatshirt before reaching the door. As soon as he was inside, he started stripping one article of clothing after the other, not caring where he threw them. As fun as it might be to have Jongdae strip him, he was too touch starved to go through all that trouble when they could be otherwise occupied.

Chanyeol was down to his boxers, having decided to arrange the pillows if they needed them first instead of removing them immediately, when Jongdae walked in. He was carrying what looked like a new bottle of lube and a few condoms, humming cheerfully. It was horribly endearing.

“I see you’re prepared,” Chanyeol said, nodding happily at the necessities in Jongdae’s hands.

Jongdae didn’t say anything for a moment, eyes on Chanyeol. He tripped a little on one of Chanyeol’s shoes, but his gaze didn’t change. Chanyeol looked down at himself and understood. He stood up a little straighter and angled himself just right. There was a reason he liked staying in shape. Having Jongdae look punch drunk as he stared at Chanyeol’s muscles, his cock just hard enough to show, was worth it.

Jongdae swallowed and tore his gaze away. “You think I’d let myself be caught in a situation like this only to be cockblocked? Never. I bought this after that first night because I realized  _ I  _ didn’t have any.”

Chanyeol could kiss him, so he did. Chanyeol surged forward and into the arms of a very smug-looking Jongdae. Chanyeol lowered his head so he could reach Jongdae’s lips and Jongdae was kind enough to meet him halfway, standing on his toes. Chanyeol tried to convey how thankful he was with each kiss but it was a little awkward with everything still in Jongdae’s hands, so he backed off, snatching the bottle and the condoms to put on his nightstand and pulled Jongdae onto the bed.

Jongdae wasted no time pulling down his pants and boxers and then climbing on top of him, shucking his shirt when Chanyeol gave it a tug. Chanyeol pulled him closer, so that he lay on top, hot skin against hot skin.

Jongdae bent his head down to resume their kiss, arms propping him up so he could kiss deeply. The cage of his embrace forced Chanyeol’s attention and all he could see was Jongdae, all he could smell was the scent of his shampoo and sweat from travelling. Jongdae kissed him with fervour. His lips locked on Chanyeol’s, sucked on his lower lip, while Chanyeol took the opportunity to run his hands across Jongdae’s bare skin.

Jongdae fit so well into his hands, no matter where he let them roam. From the smooth expanse of Jongdae’s back and down to his waist, Chanyeol’s hands ran along Jongdae’s hot skin. He wrapped his hands around Jongdae’s waist, which fit in his hands so perfectly, before moving them down  Jongdae’s thighs, both of which bracketed Chanyeol’s torso. He massaged the defined muscles he found there up and down. Jongdae hummed to show he liked that so Chanyeol did it again and slid his hands up to Jongdae’s ass.

Jongdae’s ass had long been a great topic of discussion, Minseok being very insistent on it’s greatness. He wasn’t wrong. He was never wrong. Jongdae’s ass fit perfectly in Chanyeol’s hands, firm but full at the same time. He wished he had asked Jongdae to take his pants off before he climbed on top of him. Despite that, he squeezed just a little, parting his cheeks through the fabric.

Jongdae bit his lip. “Not today,” he said firmly, “we can try that later.” Leaning back in and taking advantage of Chanyeol’s open mouth to get back to making out. Chanyeol’s grip tightened in response to Jongdae’s advance, but he didn’t relent, sucking on Chanyeol’s tongue as if to keep him from using it to say anything; as if he could even think of anything to say like this.

Chanyeol didn’t argue nor did he want to. Besides, Jongdae didn’t say it would never happen and there was the rest of his body to explore. He was perfectly content this way, especially with how many times he pictured this happening. Chanyeol settled his hands on Jongdae’s waist once more, his fingers digging into what little give there was.

At that moment, Jongdae pressed his hips downward, so that his hardening cock pressed against Chanyeol’s abdomen. 

“Are we going to start anytime soon?” Chanyeol asked when Jongdae had pulled back for air. His cock was starting to ache, and each and every thing Jongdae did only made it worse.

Jongdae got off of him and nodded towards Chanyeol’s boxers, which Chanyeol promptly removed

He tugged at the waistband of Jongdae’s track pants, prompting Jongdae to pull off both the pants and boxers and toss them to the side. Chanyeol did the same with his own boxers until it was just them, bare and exposed to each other.

The rapid beating of Chanyeol’s heart was only more apparent now that they were apart. He could hear it in his ears as he took deep breaths. He didn’t get far using that method because looking at Jongdae made him weak and impossibly warm at the same time; it was exhilarating. The sight of Jongdae’s cock, red and hard and curving upwards for him alone caused his breath to hitch. It made his own cock, lying hot against his abdomen, twitch and stiffen just a little bit more. He bit the inside of his cheek to clear his head.

He didn’t have much time to himself before Jongdae was on him again, cock pressed against Chanyeol’s abdomen with Chanyeol’s sliding back and forth along his ass.

“So,” Chanyeol asked between kisses, “have you done this before or…”

“Yes, but it’s…uh…been a while. Don’t ask.” Jongdae gave him a tight lipped smile that only made Chanyeol want to ask even more. However, he was almost positive it had something to do with Baekhyun, and when it came to him, the less said the better. 

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow but Jongdae ignored him. “You’re going to finger yourself just like you do when you’re alone, thinking of me,” he said, reaching for the lube. His tone and the force with which he placed the bottle in his hands meant that there was no arguing.

Chanyeol balked. He wanted nothing more than to have Jongdae tease him and stretch him open himself. He would have said as much, if he could actually say no to Jongdae when he was looking at him as if he were a feast he couldn’t wait to devour. Watching Jongdae fall apart as he watched Chanyeol finger himself appealing as well, especially after the learning Jongdae used to get off of it by sound alone.

“Fine,” Chanyeol said, taking the bottle from a satisfied Jongdae. He flipped the cap and poured a liberal amount on his hand and letting it warm up a bit. He knew just how much he needed to get going. He sensed Jongdae’s eyes on him, watching his every move as if transfixed. Chanyeol adjusted the pillows on the bed, careful to make sure Jongdae had a full view of what he was about to do. From the look on his face, Chanyeol could tell that just watching was going to wreck him; he loved it.

Before long, he was circling his hole gently, spreading the lube around the edges and gently prodding. His cock twitched with interest but he schooled his expression; this was only the opening act. He let himself relax as he slid in the first finger, moving it in slow circles to begin stretching it out.

Chanyeol saw Jongdae’s hands itching, as if he wanted to be the one doing the work, and smirked; it was his turn to be a tease. He added another finger and scissored both and fucking himself a little harder. He added a third finger a little earlier than he should and gasped. He saw Jongdae’s cock twitch at the noise and he watched as Jongdae reached down to stroke it slowly and gently at the base. It was incredibly satisfying to watch and, when combined with the fingers he was stretching himself with, was causing his own cock to fill until it was fully erect, heavy and straining with need.

When Chanyeol’s three fingers slid in and out with ease, he stopped and pulled them out; he was impatient and it was probably good enough from what he could see. He wiped them on a spare tissue and tossed it somewhere near a trash bin.

It was as if he ended a spell. Jongdae met his eyes, but couldn’t seem to form any words or move.

Chanyeol made an impatient noise, “Jongdae please…do something.”

“You’re sure?” Jongdae asked slowly, already moving towards him.

Chanyeol nodded with enthusiasm and was shocked when cool fingers replaced his own, sliding in and out of his hole at the same pace Chanyeol had set earlier. Jongdae was smiling now, a smile that got wider when Chanyeol frowned in response before gasping. Chanyeol realized he was searching for Chanyeol’s prostate, that he had purposefully avoided touching to keep himself from getting too close. It wasn’t long before he found it and had Chanyeol writhing against the pillows.

“Stop being an asshole and get your dick inside me,” Chanyeol grunted.

Jongdae’s dick had long been hard and ready, so Chanyeol wrapped his hand around it and rubbed his rough, calloused thumb over the head, pressing in and swirling it around just enough for Jongdae to get the idea. 

“Okay, okay , fine. Which way do you prefer?” Jongdae asked as he opened one of the condoms and carefully rolled it down his cock. He finished adding more lube before looking up at Chanyeol expectantly.

“I want to ride you,” Chanyeol said, his tone completely serious. He genuinely thought it might be interesting, but mostly he wanted to see Jongdae’s reaction.

Jongdae was silent for a moment before saying, “I don’t think I’m physically up for that right now.”

Chanyeol laughed, “I’d say you are.” He looked pointedly at Jongdae’s erect cock, but he understood what he meant. Still, it might be interesting sitting astride those narrow hips, Jongdae’s smaller frame caged in by his own as he fucked himself. He was fine with anything at this point if he was really being honest with himself.  

“But if you insist, we can do it your way,” Chanyeol said.

“Perfect, front it is. I’m not done kissing you yet,” Jongdae said, placing his hands on Chanyeol’s shoulders and moving forwards to press their lips together, stealing Chanyeol’s breath away.

Jongdae didn’t end there. He licked at the nape of Chanyeol’s neck and worked at the spot with his mouth until it he was sure the mark he left would last a while. He continued down onto his chest with another just above his heart. He moved slowly and carefully, knowing full well what it was doing to him. When he latched on to Chanyeol’s nipple, Chanyeol let out a moan as Jongdae sucked and toyed at it with his tongue, abusing it with his teeth. Chanyeol’s back arched when he reached over to tweak the other with his fingers until they were both red and pert. The slight pain that remained after Jongdae’s abuse only added to his arousal.

“Having fun?” Jongdae asked once he’d placed a third mark on Chanyeol’s stomach. He wore a shit-eating grin, knowing what he was doing to Chanyeol. He knew how needy Chanyeol was feeling from the way he squirmed but ignored it entirely.

“Ass,” Chanyeol hissed.

“I have no idea if you’re calling me an ass or you want me in yours, so I guess you’ll have to wait.” Chanyeol really wished he had the eager and insistent Jongdae back. That Jongdae would happily spear him on his dick. This slow teasing might be one of the best experiences he’s had, but he wanted to come sometime in this lifetime.

Chanyeol grunted and thrust upward. In response, Jongdae raised a hand and pressed his hip down with it.

Keeping his hand there, Jongdae placed a kiss on the tip of Chanyeol’s dick. For a moment Chanyeol thought he was going to take him with his mouth but he rose instead. Chanyeol felt the loss of something that could have been, his cock throbbed with need.

“Ready?”

“Jongdae if you don’t put your dick in me right now I will kick you out,” Chanyeol said, nudging him with his leg.

“No you won’t,” Jongdae sang, but as he did, he started to position himself at Chanyeol’s entrance. He took one last look at Chanyeol before pressing inside.

Chanyeol hissed. Jongdae was surprisingly gentle as he slid in slowly but Chanyeol still felt the pain as he was forced to stretch to accommodate Jongdae’s length. He felt impossibly full and oversensitive and Jongdae wasn’t even all the way in. It had been so long since he’d done this he wondered why he’d waited. Jongdae was so hot, so thick…

He looked up at Jongdae to find that he was looking back. They grinned at each other. “You’re so fucking tight for someone so big,” Jongdae said until he was fully sheathed.

“Aww thanks,” Chanyeol said, wrapping his legs around Jongdae to pull him in even closer. 

Jongdae hissed but he still reached in to kiss Chanyeol, letting Chanyeol take the lead before pulling away. He looked Chanyeol in the eye and moved.

He was relentless. With each thrust, Chanyeol struggled not to moan, throwing a hand across his mouth. His legs, weak as they were, hugged Jongdae’s sides tight and tugged him in. They did little to slow his pace as he thrust deeper and deeper inside Chanyeol, hitting him just right as he slid out and in. The focused look on Jongdae’s face as he tore Chanyeol apart sent shivers down his spine. He was so overwhelmingly attracted to the person who was all his, who was deep, deep inside him.

Chanyeol groaned from behind his hand as he struggled to keep it together, his hand reaching down to wrap around his owen leaking cock, so he could stroke it in time with each thrust, squeezing the head and using the precum as slick. His other hand dug into the sheets for purchase. His breath started coming in short puffs as Jongdae’s length pressed against his prostate.

“I’m close,” he managed to get out before Jongdae captured his mouth in a kiss.

Jongdae pushed back just enough to breathe, “same.” He wasted no time, pushing in deep, so deep.

The next thing he knew, he was seeing white as he came harder than he’d ever before, painting his chest with streaks of white. Jongdae wasn't far behind, with a few more thrusts, he was chasing his own climax until he pulled out, spent, and collapsed beside Chanyeol.

“Welcome back,” Chanyeol said with a lazy grin as they both caught their breaths.

Jongdae gave a weak laugh, “It’s good to be back.”

“Shower?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

 

–

 

On Monday of their first week back Chanyeol decided to reacquaint himself with the bitter taste of coffee for the upcoming semester. With that in mind, he waltzed into Cafe Boomerang, choosing to kill two birds with one stone and see his friends as well. Nothing had changed since he’d last been–Kyungsoo at the register, Minseok cleaning the various machines, and Jongin doing the kind of menial work reserved for new employees. 

What he did not expect was Kyungsoo directing an unusually cheerful smile at Chanyeol. He very rarely smiled at Chanyeol like this unless he wanted something and pure instinct had Chanyeol taking a step back and eyeing Kyungsoo with apprehension. 

“Do I want to know why you’re standing there smiling at me?” Chanyeol asked cautiously.

Kyungsoo’s expression softened to a more natural smile, making Chanyeol feel a little better. Of course, he was still on edge, but at least he wasn’t ready to bolt. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear whatever it was that Kyungsoo had to say.

Kyungsoo gave him a look that was just shy of exasperated, “I just need a favour, you don’t need to act like I’m about to steal your first born. If I wanted to do that, I’d to it with far more smoke and mirrors.” Kyungsoo said and graced him with a genuine smile when Chanyeol barked out a laugh despite himself.

Chanyeol straightened and walked over to the counter, feeling a little better. He pulled out his wallet as he reached the counter. “So what do you need if not my unborn child?”

“Just your voice and possibly a finger or two,” Kyungsoo said casually. “Your usual?” he added at the end, looking up into Chanyeol’s face.

“Yeah, but with little extra milk, I’m easing into it this time.” Kyungsoo nodded as he pressed a few buttons on the screed before him. As he pulled out exact change for his drink and handed it over, he said, “That’s an interesting spell you have going on there, but I think Jongdae’s voice fits the part a bit better, it’s probably worth more.” 

Kyungsoo seriously considered Chanyeol’s suggestion. “It is, but he’s a little less gullible than you are and your fingers are longer, which is ideal for the spell. The cash?” Kyungsoo held out his hand and Chanyeol gave him the money, holding back his tip, keeping it until after he found out what was desired of him. Kyungsoo frowned but called over the order to Minseok.

“Not gonna ask for the thing most precious to him?” Minseok said, pulling out everything he needed for Chanyeol’s coffee.

Kyungsoo laughed, “You think I want his favourite dildo? No, I’m fine with a finger or two.”

Chanyeol made an indignant noise because first, how did Kyungsoo even know he had a dildo let alone a favourite one, and second, how could he not know his guitar was basically his child.

“It might hel–”

Kyungsoo spun around and glared at Jongin, who was washing mugs in the back. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Jongin, or I will dirty every single mug we have and you will have to wash all of them again.”

Jongin shrugged and looked over at Chanyeol, waving. Chanyeol greeted him back before returning his attention to Kyungsoo.

“You already know what I’m going to ask, let’s not beat around the bush and I won’t have to do black magic to get it done.” Kyungsoo gave him a look that told him this was a request but the sort of request that was less of a request and much more like an order designed to appear like there were choices involved. Chanyeol might as well resign himself to the fate Kyungsoo was going to subject him to.

“You’re going to make me perform, aren’t you?” Chanyeol’s question was more a statement than anything.

Kyungsoo handed him his hot coffee, cardboard sleeve and everything. He’d even upsized it without Chanyeol asking; a rare show of desperation. Chanyeol felt slightly better.

“Of course,” Kyungsoo said, matter of factly, “But I’m going to be singing with you this time. You can also sing with Jongdae since they really liked you both last time even if you were disgustingly in love. It’ll be like old times.”

“So it’s just the usual?” Chanyeol asked.

Kyungsoo simply nodded.

Chanyeol handed over the generous tip he’d been holding on to. “Kyungsoo, if it’s just like normal you don’t need to act like I’m made of china. Last time Jongdae and I weren’t barely on good terms, now we’re…”

“Fucking,” Minseok finished from behind Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo whirled to hit him but missed. Minseok was truly powerful, Chanyeol was impressed.

“Pretty much,” Chanyeol agreed.

Kyungsoo made a face and Chanyeol laughed so hard, he nearly spilled his coffee.

“If you spill that coffee, you will clean it up,” Kyungsoo said, his brows now set in a permanent frown.

“No,” Chanyeol said, “Jongin will.”

“Please don’t drag me into this,” Jongin pleaded. He sounded desperate enough for Chanyeol to take pity on him. He wondered what he’d done to invoke the wrath of the other baristas. As much as he loved them, Chanyeol would never in a million years work here; it was a health hazard.

Chanyeol walked over to a table and pulled out a textbook from his bag as well as his phone. He opened the textbook to the page he was supposed to be reading, and then opened his unread messages so see if he could do something that did not involve reading.

“Chanyeol, that’s not how you do readings,” Minseok said from the counter.

“I’m multitasking,” Chanyeol said, waving him away. 

 

**MESSAGE: JONGDAE**

 

_ jongdae: babe _

_ jongdae:babe _

_ jongdae: BABE _

_ jongdae: CHANYEOL _

 

_ yeol: WHAT IS IT BABE _

 

_ jongdae: bro _

 

_ yeol: yes?? _

 

_ jongdae: when are we doing the recording? :) _

 

_ yeol: that… _

_ yeol: bro  _

_ yeol: are you being passive aggressive this early in our relationship _

 

_ jongdae: what? _

_ jongdae: no _

_ jongdae: it’s just a smile _

 

_ yeol: dude _

 

_ jongdae: just answer the question i need to know for my schedule, i have choir _

 

_ yeol: well _

_ yeol: since we finished the songs over the break and i booked the rooms early _

_ yeol: we can do it this next weekend _

_ yeol: we just need last minute touches and possibly baek _

 

_ jongdae: perfect _

_ jongdae: we’ll get baek, dont worry about that _

 

_ yeol: if you say so _

 

–

  
  


“Jongdae!” Minseok exclaimed approximately five minutes later. 

Jongdae pocketed his phone and gave him a small salute and a bright smile that Chanyeol wished was directed at him. “Hey!” he said, returning the greeting.

“How are you?” Minseok asked, purposefully not looking at Chanyeol, who was out of Jongdae’s line of sight. Chanyeol said nothing and paid careful attention to whatever Minseok was about to do and/or say.

Jongdae frowned, “You saw me yesterday. I’m fine except for the theory quiz I have at three.”

Minseok smiled and leaned over the counter, “That’s not what I meant, how are you and Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol nearly got up then and there, afraid of what Jongdae would say. He already feared Minseok knew a lot more than he was letting on and, while he was all for being open about certain things, some fires should not be stoked. In other words, he didn’t like the look in Minseok’s eyes.

“Um, good? Why?” Jongdae asked before turning to Kyungsoo and making his order. Minseok began preparing Jongdae’s drink, practiced enough in his craft to pay close attention to Jongdae as he did so.

Minseok’s smile grew slightly more cat-like. “That’s not what you told me about last weekend,” he said.

Chanyeol frowned. He hadn’t been going around saying anything. Granted, he’d been busy and hadn’t talked to anyone besides Kyungsoo, who did not want to hear any details period, and Junmyeon, but only in passing. He gave up pretending to read his book and paid full attention to the conversation happening in front of him.

“Why are you doing this?” Jongdae asked. He looked annoyed and he sounded tired. Chanyeol knew how long he’d spent studying the night before.

Minseok put a lid on Jongdae’s drink, but held on to it, “Because you look so cute talking about him. Especially when you were telling me about how you–”

“Stop right there,” Jongdae said, looking over Minseok’s shoulder, “Jongin is going to get weird ideas. Kyungsoo, cover his youthful ears.”

Kyungsoo moved to oblige, though he looked like he’d rather cover his own.

Chanyeol’s head was already in his hands. If Minseok knew everyone would. Well, not everyone, but Baekhyun would, and then everyone would know. He was tired of his love life being the subject of general conversation and it was already barrelling in that direction, especially after their huge spat before it even started. Jongdae needed to get out more and understand how these things worked for the sake of their personal lives.

“Stop it Kyungsoo, I’ve had sex before you don’t need to cover my ears, OW!” Chanyeol could hear Jongin struggling with Kyungsoo as he tried to pry him off with soapy hands.

Minseok laughed, watching the two of them struggle. “Ok Kyungsoo you can leave the big boy alone,” he finally said.

Kyungsoo let him go and they both went back to work, significantly more disgruntled, glaring at each other, and muttering under their breaths. From here, Chanyeol could see Kyungsoo’s apron was soaking wet and assumed that was the main reason for his ire.

“Well, I’m glad things are going well. I didn’t expect Chanyeol would bottom, Baekhyun never elaborated much but I should have seen it coming though.” Minseok looked right at Chanyeol when he said this, smiling. That fucker.

Jongdae’s head turned to see that Chanyeol was sitting maybe 3 metres away, glaring at the two of them, or, rather, Minseok specifically. There was nothing wrong with bottoming, even if he was over six feet tall.

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae said brightly.

“Jongdae!” Chanyeol said, with a tight-lipped smile.

“Minseok!” Minseok exclaimed.

Chanyeol gave Minseok a withering look and then turned his attention to Jongdae. “Why are you telling people  _ everything _ ?” he whined.

“It doesn’t matter? I thought we stopped caring. It’s not like we did anything weird or kinky.” Jongdae had a point, it really wasn’t that weird, but he’d prefer less teasing.

“Okay fine, say what you want, just know these losers won’t let anything go. Ever,” Chanyeol said, actually looking down at his reading.

“Okay, fine, I’ll be a little more discrete. I don’t want to be the next campus legend,” Jongdae said. Chanyeol gave him a warm smile in thanks.

He could hear Minseok say, “Boo, you’re no fun.”

“Minseok just give me my coffee,” Jongdae whined. He continued to whine until he had a cup in his hands.

“Okay, I have to go,” Jongdae said on his way out,  “I’ll see you tonight Chanyeol. We can figure out recording then.” Jongdae waved to all of them and ran out of the door with his coffee, somehow managing to not spill it.

 

–

 

“You ready?” Jongdae asked him, standing at the door, looking soft and huggable in his warm, oversized sweater. If Chanyeol wasn’t already late because he’d spent far too long making out with Jongdae on the couch, he’d start all over again.

“Yep!” Chanyeol held up his guitar and some chords he’d noted down in case he forgot something. The cafe was well equipped with amps and microphone, so there was very little he had to bring. 

He made sure to double-check his appearance in the bathroom mirror before he started getting ready for their performance, even though Jongdae had assured him he looked fine before they left. He had even made sure to give him a kiss on every part of him that he considered “fine”. With an adjustment to his jacket, worn over a simple t-shirt, and an artful ruffle of his hair, he deemed himself ready.

Kyungsoo had assured him that they would not be the only performers of the night and were required to sing only a couple of songs. Of course, because Chanyeol was accompanying two vocalists with one song shared between them, he would be playing twice as long. It was a charity night so they would have to be good at the very least. He didn’t really mind though, he enjoyed performing with both of them and it’s not like they were bad.

When they stumbled into the cafe from the cold, Chanyeol was met with a familiar face that he hadn’t seen for months. He grinned at the sight of Yixing standing over with Minseok and Luhan, probably talking about what he’d gotten up to in China. 

He realized that Yixing was holding a guitar case, which meant he was probably the other entertainment for the night. Chanyeol hadn’t heard him play in a long time and his heart leaped at the thought of listening to whatever his friend might have composed abroad–Yixing had always made a point to use these sessions to try out new songs on an audience.

It wasn’t until he looked between Yixing and Jongdae that Chanyeol remembered the odd text conversation he’d had with Yixing back at the end of winter break. He opened his phone to double check the contents of said conversation and looked back at Jongdae with interest.

“Hey Jongdae,” Chanyeol began casually, “do you know Zhang Yixing?”

Jongdae looked like he was about to announce to the others that they had arrived but stopped and looked at Chanyeol. “Of course I do, we’ve been friends since first year. He’s the reason I’m living in the apartment next to yours in the first place.” He said as if it were common knowledge and not some big, game-changing fact Chanyeol that had zero knowledge about.

Jongdae must have noticed Chanyeol’s surprise–his wide eyes were a give-away–because he clapped him on the shoulder and laughed before asking, “Did you think he was going to let just anyone move into his apartment for the semester?”

“I didn’t think about it, to be honest,” Chanyeol replied. Considering how many of their other friends were apparently mutual, he shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

By then, the others had finally noticed they were already at the cafe and waved. An enormous grin spread across Yixing’s face when he saw the two of them. Chanyeol waved back with the same level of enthusiasm, before returning his attention to Jongdae in hope that he would be provided with further information.

“So, why did he give you that apartment?” he asked, when Jongdae didn’t volunteer any more information.

Jongdae gave him an exasperated look. “Long story short, I nearly got kicked out of my last place for being ‘unreasonably’ loud,” Chanyeol gave him a pointed look, earning himself a smack before Jongdae continued, “So he did me a solid and let me sublet. He was supposed to move back this January but was kind enough to let me stay permanently for obvious reasons. Happy now?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol mused. “It came with much suffering, but even better rewards once we got that settled.” He pulled Jongdae in and gave him a quick kiss. “For one,” he said, after they’d separated, “we can be as loud as we want.”

Jongdae gave him a wolfish grin and pulled him back in for a longer, hungrier kiss.

“Hey, this is a public establishment. Save your PDA for where no one can see you,” Kyungsoo called from where he was arranging tables around the “stage”, asking patrons who were already seated in the area to move accordingly.

“Not sorry,” Jongdae said, giving Chanyeol another peck.

Kyungsoo frowned deeper and started moving towards them. “I will kick you out,” he threatened, looking like he fully intended to follow through with it.

“You will do no such thing!” Minseok said frantically, finally paying attention to the issue at hand. “You can’t kick out the entertainment, Kyungsoo, even if they’re gross. I’ll make you go sing by yourself if you do.”

Kyungsoo glared at him, as if daring him to do it, but ultimately went back to his task, muttering to himself. He paused to throw the two of them the finger when he heard them stifling their laughter. Chanyeol only laughed harder.

Distraction over, Jongdae tugged on Chanyeol’s sleeve after they had taken off their coats and hung them on chairs by the counter and dragged him over to their group of friends. It still baffled Chanyeol that they had so many mutual friends but never became close. He supposed it happened sometimes with so many people between them, but the entire situation got more unreal with every passing day.

He didn’t have much more time to think about it because Yixing, who had been waiting eagerly for them, crushed Chanyeol into a hug that involved his guitar case clattering to the ground and all of the wind being knocked out of Chanyeol’s lungs.

“Hey Xing,” Chanyeol managed to get out, despite his difficulties breathing. Yixing might be skinny but he was surprisingly strong and he was hugging Chanyeol as if he’d been gone years instead of months.

“Hey yourself,” Yixing greeted, stepping back with a smile.

A few seconds later he pulled Jongdae into an equally tight hug, and Chanyeol laughed at Jongdae’s strangled expression. Yixing apparently missed him just as much as he did Chanyeol.

“It’s good to see the two of you!” Yixing said once he’d finished.

“Likewise,” Chanyeol said. “How was China?”

“Oh it was great! I got to see my family and my cat during a study break, which was nice. I wrote a bunch of new songs that I’m going to perform today, “ he explained, sounding excited.

“I can’t wait,” Chanyeol said warmly, with Jongdae nodding in agreement beside him.

Shortly after that, Yixing was called over to get his things ready on stage for his performance. 

Chanyeol sidled up next to Jongdae, who was now standing by the counter. “I can’t believe all of this is his fault,  _ he’s so nice _ . He was my bro, and he left me.”

Jongdae elbowed him in the side. Chanyeol exclaimed more loudly than warranted, but it also wasn’t the first time he’d been hit that evening, so dramatics were necessary.

“Might I remind you that we wouldn’t be dating if not for him, I almost didn’t take him up on his offer based on what he said about  _ you _ .”

“Me?”

“Yes,  _ you _ . He might think you’re a chill guy, but he doesn’t think you’re particularly quiet with your drums and everything else, he just has a higher threshold than I do. I was warned.” Jongdae gave Chanyeol a pointed look, knowing Chanyeol couldn’t really refute that. He supposed he really was terrible, Yixing rarely said a word against him and he  _ warned _ Jongdae. 

He turned away, muttering an apology.

Jongdae kissed his cheek, “It’s settled now, remember? I’m going to talk with Minseok and Luhan. You might want to go do some damage control with Kyungsoo if you’re going to perform together.”

Chanyeol groaned. He had no idea how he was going to get his friend to stop giving him dark looks and into a good enough mood to make their performance something pleasant to watch. He needed something to drink.

He walked up to the counter where Jongin was standing at the register, looking half-asleep, a textbook hidden behind the container of cookies they had on display. Jongin startled when Chanyeol loomed over him to get a look at his book, which involved the history of dance or something like that.

“Do you need something?” Jongin asked sleepily.

“They let you do barista duty already?” Chanyeol asked instead.

Jongin yawned widely and pointed over to Minseok, “Minseok’s doing it, but he told me to not fuck up if someone comes  he’s unavailable to serve them. It’s a test or something. Honestly, I have a quiz tomorrow and I have to study, I can’t afford to be here so please don’t ask me for anything complicated.”

He looked truly miserable and Chanyeol felt for him, even if he couldn’t do anything to help. He felt bad for asking but went through with it anyway, “Can I get something to drink?”

“You do know you have to sing, right?” Jongin asked, “Coffee isn’t going to help you there.”

He had a point. A good one. “Can I get some water then?”

Jongin nodded, Chanyeol was sure he was relieved that he didn’t have to do much of anything. He took his very large glass of ice water gratefully and moved to sit near where Kyungsoo was washing a few of the tables.

Chanyeol waited for a while, watching as Kyungsoo moved from table to table, cleaning with an almost unnecessary amount of effort. He paid Chanyeol no attention whatsoever, focusing entirely on his task. He occasionally gave instructions towards the people by the stage, but was otherwise silent.

“Soo?” Chanyeol said hesitantly. Kyungsoo knew he was there and Chanyeol knew Kyungsoo knew he was there, so the whole situation was awkward. It was a great start.

Kyungsoo put down his rag and collapsed into the chair across from Chanyeol, stretching and rubbing at his neck before taking his glasses to clean them. He was paying attention to Chanyeol while showing indifference at the same time.

Chanyeol waited patiently until Kyungsoo had finished cleaning his glasses and had returned them to his face, knowing he would start when he was ready. Chanyeol was an impatient person but he could spare time for Kyungsoo, he had been conditioned to do so.

“I’m not actually mad at you for tonight,” Kyungsoo said with a sigh, “You two are gross, but you’re not the only ones who are gross and in love. It was actually worse when you were pining for each other and couldn’t figure things out, which was just painful.”

“Thanks,” Chanyeol said sardonically.

Kyungsoo smiled, “It’s nice you’re together, but there are a few things I want to clarify.” A frown replaced his smile, and he looked at Chanyeol, waiting for a sign to continue. 

Chanyeol took a sip and nodded.

Kyungsoo continued, “This is about our last movie night. Movie nights are our thing Chanyeol. You can’t just invite people and then start making out with them while I am still very much in the room. I don’t want to see people getting very turned on while I’m trying to enjoy Iron Man 2 with a friend.”

Chanyeol blushed but kept himself from covering his face, he didn’t want to ruin the mood. He did defend himself. “I swear, I didn’t mean for that to happen, I just thought it might be fun, like that time Baekhyun came.”

“Baekhyun came uninvited for an intervention and then didn’t leave, it was different. We’re friends, and I just want to spend time as friends without boyfriends, you get what I mean?” Kyungsoo was searching his face, his tone said everything about how serious he was.

Chanyeol was silent for a moment. Had he been neglecting his friends? He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he did something where Jongdae was involved. He was acting like he was in of those couples that did everything together, he realized with horror. Movie nights were sacred, Kyungsoo was right, it was  _ their  _ thing. He’d feel pretty weird if he was alone with Kyungsoo and his significant other. He knew what he’d done wrong.

“Of course,” Chanyeol said softly, “It’s our thing. I’ll talk to Jongdae about it and we can go back to our weekly schedule. We still have to finish our Marvel marathon,” Chanyeol added with a smile.

“That’s all I ask,” Kyungsoo said, standing to continue doing his job. “We’ll do our usual songs, yeah?”

“Of course!” Chanyeol replied with a grin that Kyungsoo returned. He felt immediately better afterwards. Kyungsoo’s smiles were magical in that way.

His conversation with Kyungsoo was a little touch of reality that he felt he needed. It had been so long since he’d dated that he forgot how things were supposed to work.

“You all set to go?” Minseok asked from beside him, causing him to jump.

“I thought we were at the end?”

“You can never be too ready, I’m glad you fixed things with Kyungsoo though, he was venting about it his entire shift today,” Minseok nodded in Kyungsoo’s direction, who narrowed his eyes at his coworker but continued working.

A person on stage announced Yixing was finally set to begin, so Minseok returned to his place behind the counter while Jongin ran to read in a corner. Chanyeol sought out Jongdae so they could sit and listen together.

Yixing’s set was, of course, wonderful. His new pieces were even better than his old, rough as they were. Listening made Chanyeol feel like composing, it was of the things he missed about living next to him; they both spurred each other on creatively.

Chanyeol stood up to get ready to sing with Kyungsoo after a short intermission. Yixing was already on his way over, taking a towel Kyungsoo handed him to wipe the sweat that was beading on his forehead. He grinned when he noticed Chanyeol was looking at him and walked over to where he stood beside Jongdae.

“Yixing,” Jongdae said from beside him, his voice cold. Chanyeol spun around to find Jongdae scowling at Yixing for some reason.

“Yes,” Yixing said with uncertainty.

“Why did you tell Chanyeol and I to take Chinese when you knew you were going to be leaving for the semester?”

As the words fell from Jongdae’s lips, Chanyeol turned around and gave Yixing an identical, unimpressed expression.

Yixing had the gall to laugh at their seriousness.

“You don’t understand, we’re dying!” Jongdae whined.

“I didn’t know I was going to be leaving this semester. I also wanted you two to meet since we have the same friends and everything. I figured you could just study together once you put it all together.”  Yixing said it all so simply, as if things would just work like that. He was technically right, all of those things did happen but not nearly as simply.

“Why are you still frowning?” he asked, looking between Jongdae and Chanyeol.

Part of Chanyeol knew what happened wasn’t  _ really _ Yixing’s fault, but finding out he was apparently the catalyst for every miserable thing that happened this year was not something that made him happy. The fact that it turned out for the better, and how much he loved him as a friend, were the only thing holding his tongue. He valued his sleep and he had lost too much of it. It looked like Jongdae was having a similar internal struggle.

Chanyeol put a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder and Jongdae’s warm hand wrapped around his fingers. His hand was so small it was impossibly cute. He couldn’t say this, of course, because he’d be inviting noise so he kept his appreciation of Jongdae’s smallness to himself.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jongdae said, “performance jitters. He’ll be fine once he gets going on stage”.

Yixing nodded like he understood, and left them to find a spot to watch with a cheerful wave. Chanyeol gave Jongdae a quick squeeze as thanks, and started actually getting ready.

Chanyeol’s set with Kyungsoo was met with tremendous applause before they even started because it had been a long time since they’d last performed. He and Kyungsoo had put together a few new songs over the break since they didn’t live all that far from each other and had a lot of free time.

He had missed singing with Kyungsoo. They understood each other well, complemented each other–or so he’d like to think. He was glad Kyungsoo had told him he felt neglected, he didn’t know what he’d do without a voice of reason on call.

Before long, Chanyeol was wiping sweat from his brow and moving over to the beat-up piano as Jongdae stepped onto the stage. He got so immersed in performing with Jongdae he could scarcely remember any of the details, even though it was mostly a medley of things they sang when they were bored of working on their performance pieces. According to Kyungsoo, they apparently looked silly and drunk, despite being completely sober, and so disgustingly in love that he could barely watch. Which, of course, meant that he liked it.

With all of his things packed up and the next performer on stage, Chanyeol turned over to Jongdae for their final task of the evening.

“Now?” Jongdae asked, pointing towards Baekhyun, who was at a table on the edge of the room, typing something on his cell phone.

Chanyeol nodded in response, and they both made their way over to where he was sitting. Jongdae sat atop the table he sat at, and Chanyeol spun a chair around and straddled it backwards so that the two of them caged him in.

“Hey Baek,” Chanyeol said cheerfully.

Baekhyun looked up in surprise, having been so focused on his phone he hadn’t noticed them arrive. His eyes narrowed immediately as he glanced between the two of them and their mischievous smiles. “What do you want?” he asked.

“We want you to join in on our little end of the year project,” Jongdae said simply. He loomed over Baekhyun from his spot on the table and looked considerably intimidating.

“You’ll be compensated off course to the tune of one whole credit,” Chanyeol added. He slid into the chair across from Baekhyun and folded his hands in front of him.

Baekhyun wasn’t the sort to break easily so he just snorted at the two of them and waited to see if this was a joke or not. He probably didn’t care either way and his posture didn’t indicate he planned to get up any time soon.

“Ha ha, no.” Baekhyun stated bluntly, prodding Jongdae in the stomach a few times to see if he’d laugh–he did not but it was close. “I’m a busy man and working with the two of you would be a disaster even if you weren’t disgustingly in love.”

Jongdae grabbed Baekhyun’s hand with one of his own and hit the back of his head with the other. “Baek please, be serious, we need someone to play piano and maybe even do background vocals.”

“You’re the only one who can do both well enough in this time frame,” Chanyeol added. Now that he’d seen how bothered Jongdae had been by Baekhyun’s prodding, he was itching to try it himself, no matter how many times he told himself it was not the time.

“Wait, you may go on, I like that bit,” Baekhyun said after extracting himself from Jongdae’s grip.

“Seriously Baek, why did you think we were doing this when we couldn’t stay in the same room together?” Jongdae said with a roll of his eyes. He clearly figured that Baekhyun wasn’t going to just bolt at this point because he pulled up a chair and stayed well out of reach of either of their fingers.

Plans foiled, Chanyeol focused on Baekhyun. “We wouldn’t be asking if we didn’t mean it. This project is like my child, I wouldn’t just anyone touch it.”

“Okay creepy but you have my attention. What’s in it for me other than the course credit?” Baekhyun steepled his hands and cocked an eyebrow.

“What do you want?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun’s face contorted in thought. “I…don’t know yet. A voucher for a favour.”

“Can we not do that? I sense danger,” Jongdae said.

Giving Baekhyun that kind of power should never be allowed in any situation, so Chanyeol simply said, “Same. Come up with something now.”

“Fine. Threesome.” Baekhyun gave them a wicked grin, daring them to respond.

“No.”//”Maybe.”

Chanyeol swung around at Jongdae’s response of “maybe,” completely aghast. They were  _ exclusive. _

“What?” Jongdae asked defensively. Chanyeol just kept staring at him while Baekhyun looked as if Christmas had come early.

“Oh come on, we’ve both done it with him before, and threesome is on the list. There’s a lot we can’t do with only two people. You can’t honestly say it’s a bad idea Worst case scenario we have something stupid to laugh about,” Jongdae’s eyes were sparkling and Chanyeol couldn’t exactly say no to that kind of eagerness.

“Fine. Maybe,” Chanyeol grumbled, to the delight of the other two. “Come up with an alternative too,” Chanyeol said quickly enough to keep them from getting ahead of themselves.

“Hmm, can I do the ‘I owe you thing’?” Baekhyun asked.

“Fine. But only because I’m desperate.” Chanyeol agreed hastily, before Jongdae could open his mouth.

“Ha, I know you’re thinking of that threesome aren’t you. It’ll be fun with no strings attached.” He and Jongdae were still grinning at him. He was never going to live this down.

“Shut up Baek.”

“We’ll give you the music and the piano pieces tomorrow as well as where the backing vocals should go. We usually practice at night and will text you details,” Jongdae said in explanation, as if he didn’t just potentially sign them up for a threesome with their ex.

“I’d go on about how I’m always busy, but my social life is a little dead at the moment and no one decent is hosting any parties. I’ll be there,” Baekhyun said.

“I’m glad we had this talk,” Chanyeol said, getting up from the table.

Jongdae followed, saying, “Me too, I can’t wait for that threesome.”

“Keep going like that and it won’t happen,” Chanyeol said but Jongdae only wrapped his arms around him and he had a bad feeling about the entire agreement.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Baekhyun looking at the two of them wolfishly again.

“Don’t think about it,” Chanyeol grunted.

“It’s a little late for that, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said.

“I know, but…”

“We’ll discuss it later,” Jongdae said from between them.

“Fine.”

They finished the night drinking cocoa and listening to Yixing play to his heart’s content once the other performers had finished and he could go on as long as he wanted.

 

–

 

“If I have to go to a party you’re coming with me,” Kyungsoo said from the doorway, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Do I look like I’m ready for a party?” Chanyeol asked, looking down at his pyjama pants and shirtless state.

Kyungsoo’s eyes followed Chanyeol’s. “You’re about halfway there, change your pants and let’s go.”

“It’s February!”

“I don’t care.” Kyungsoo barged past him and swung open his closet, pulling out a pair of tight jeans and a shirt that showed way too much skin for this time of year. Chanyeol reached over and pried the clothes from him. He couldn’t get him to budge but at least he was no longer ransacking his closet.

“Ask Jongdae to go,” Chanyeol said.

“He said to ask you. He’ll go if you do.” Kyungsoo looked at him with his eyebrows raised. He’d just put down his winning hand. 

Chanyeol couldn’t resist Jongdae in his party clothes. His resolve wavered and Kyungsoo was smug with his triumph. Chanyeol glanced down at him. “What if we both decide to st-”

At that moment, Jongdae walked in, looking like a whole snack. The first thing he did was rake Chanyeol’s bare chest with his eyes, looking just as hungry as Chanyeol was. He knew he was fucked, so he accepted his fate and tugged the clothes that Kyungsoo was still holding out for him.

“He-I-fine I’ll go,” Chanyeol said, pulling on the shirt with a leather jacket he found somewhere at the bottom of his closet. The jeans were a little too tight but he was far more interested in getting his hands on Jongdae’s ass than anything else. In seconds, he was following Jongdae and a satisfied Kyungsoo out the door.

 

–

 

The party, as it turned out, was not at a house. It was at one of the pubs that surrounded campus that smelled like sweat and beer and greasy food, it was just dark enough to hide all of the accumulated grime. It wasn’t Chanyeol’s favourite place, but at least people had to keep some semblance of order–not that he had particularly cared in the past, or now.

Chanyeol was sitting beside Jongdae in a booth they had stumbled into after they had both made fools of themselves on the dancefloor…again. This time, it was mostly to embarrass Kyungsoo, after making it clear that they were associated with him, and after they had both downed at least three shots each.

His head was pleasantly buzzed and he was glad to be off his feet with Jongdae’s warm body pressed to his side. He sipped at the glass of beer he’d ordered as soon as they sat down. Jongdae’s beer was already gone and he was picking up another shot of tequila from the tray that was currently being offered to him, downing it fast. Jongdae had a high tolerance but he had drank almost twice as much as Chanyeol and the night was still young.

“Thank you,” he said to a waitress offering him a free shot, with a smile and flutter of his lashes. Her blush said a lot about what she was thinking, so, before she came back with a napkin and a number, Chanyeol wrapped a hand around his waist and smiled at her too. She scurried off.

Jongdae pouted at him. It was way too cute for Chanyeol to handle at the moment. “Don’t ruin the fun. I wanted another.”

“Too bad, no more shots for you.”

“You need to loosen up Chanyeol,” Jongdae said, tossing one of the peanuts from a small bowl on the table at his face. Chanyeol managed to catch it in his mouth, much to Jongdae’s dismay.

“I am loose, thank you very much,” Chanyeol said primly, “But if you get any sloppier we might not have as much fun later.”

“No,” Jongdae said with horror. “You’re right. That’s way more fun. Can’t fuck you if I pass out.”

“See?” Chanyeol loved Jongdae when he was drunk, he was really cute, but they had already discussed some of their plans back when they’d downed their second shot.

Jongdae made a noise of affirmation before his attention moved on to something else and they were laughing loud and hard, earning themselves a few dirty looks.

Neither of them moved from their dingy little booth for the rest of the night. Despite what Chanyeol had said, they managed to collect a few more glasses of beer as the next few hours passed, marked by the arrival and departure of visiting friends. though they were occasionally joined by one or more of their friends.

When things started to calm down, their conversation turned from exuberant laughter and huge hand gestures to something more intimate and relaxed. Jongdae was leaning heavily against Chanyeol, head on his shoulder. The party itself was starting to calm down and their booth felt considerably more private with less people around.

“Chanyeol, do you know how much I like you?” Jongdae said very seriously after he had downed the last dregs of beer from his glass and slammed it down on the table.

Chanyeol was startled by the noise but relaxed when he met Jongdae’s gaze. Chanyeol put his arm on the table and placed his head in his hand, so he could see Jongdae’s face more clearly. “Yes dear,” he said with affection.

“But do you  _ know _ know because it’s a lot. I can’t even describe it. You’re just…the best.” Jongdae’s hands were moving as fast as his mouth was as he tried to gesticulate while he spoke. Chanyeol had to keep blocking himself from being hit. Not that he minded.

“Of course I do,” he said with a sappy smile, placing a wet kiss on Jongdae’s lips. It wasn’t nearly as soft or as neat as he wanted but Jongdae looked delighted, which was all that mattered.

“I know,” Jongdae said, straightening suddenly. Chanyeol struggled to catch his balance, having rested most of his weight against Jongdae when he leaned in to kiss him. “We should do something fun.”

“Yeah?” Chanyeol said. He could stare at Jongdae’s excited face for hours. He was just so cute and lovely and pretty and his.

“Of course, it could be something we both like.” Jongdae turned to look at him in the eye, “I just want to spend time with you, I love you the most Chanyeol.”

“You do?” Chanyeol said hoarsely.

“Yep!” Jongdae said with a brilliant smile.

Chanyeol could feel the telltale sting in his eyes, “Really?”

“Chanyeol, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Do I need to serenade you?” He started singing  _ Can’t Help Falling In Love  _ with a beer bottle for a mic, moving so he faced Chanyeol as he sang.

That was the last straw. He could feel tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he went beet red. The way Jongdae looked at him, as if he was the only person in the room, the only person in the world, was a little too much after this much alcohol.

“Jongdae you ass,” he said, his wobbly voice giving him away. He covered his face to hide the tears.

Jongdae put down the bottle but he didn’t stop singing. He pried Chanyeol’s hands from his eyes and wiped his tears with a napkin that had recently been underneath a glass. He kissed each cheek before he began the chorus, then Chanyeol’s mouth, before leaning into him to finish the song. By the end, Chanyeol had a small, fond smile on his face to match Jongdae’s.

“Jongdae,” he said wetly. 

Jongdae stopped singing and turned to look at him, “Chanyeol?” God he still had that silly, loving smile on, and Chanyeol was starting to tear up all over again.

“Love you too,” he mumbled. It came out a garbled mess and he wasn’t sure if he could say it again without falling apart today. Why was today the day he had to be a sad drunk?

“What?” Jongdae said, nudging him. He reached up to brush Chanyeol’s hair out of the way and it was so tender–no he couldn’t cry.

Finally deciding what he wanted to do, Chanyeol leaned in close so that his lips were beside Jongdae’s ear. He felt Jongdae go stiff and got the confidence he needed. “Love you too,” he whispered. He pulled back and looked into Jongdae’s eyes. They looked like they were filled with stars, twinkling with joy just for him. He could get lost in them.

A beat later he was being pulled in close, Jongdae’s hot body pressing against his own as their lips met. “Good,” he heard Jongdae whisper as he smiled into the kiss.

They were found an hour later by Jongin, alternating between telling ridiculous dirty stories and making out. Kissing had improved Chanyeol’s mood considerably, or, at least, he assumed it did. He had a vague memory of Minseok sitting down, cooing at them, and ordering them more drinks. After that, neither Chanyeol nor Jongdae remember the rest, but according to various sources, Chanyeol cried at least three times more and Jongdae had either kissed them away or laughed at him.

When they were lying together in Jongdae’s bed just before dawn, chests heaving, Chanyeol propped himself up on his elbow to look down at Jongdae. “You know I meant it right?” he asked.

“Meant what?” Here help me clean up, I don’t want to wake up covered in come,” he sat up and tugged at Chanyeol’s arm.

“When I said I loved you?” Chanyeol said quietly, trailing off as he lost confidence in his words. It seemed kind of early for this kind of thing but he was still a little buzzed and emotional after all the alcohol, the crying, and two rounds of sex. 

Jongdae laughed, “I’m the one who said it first remember? We had that whole moment where I did this.” He leaned down to kiss Chanyeol’s lips. “I’d have shoved you if I thought you were lying.”

Chanyeol shoved him out of his bed at that, but Jongdae merely cackled and went to get the shower going. Chanyeol was glad Jongdae couldn’t see the disgustingly sappy look he was giving his back. He sat there in contentment a moment longer before getting up to join him for round three.

 

–

 

“Chanyeol let me in or I’ll run down the halls saying embarrassing stories about you,” Baekhyun called from outside Chanyeol’s room. He had no doubt Baekhyun would be true to his word, but he was also confused as to why Baekhyun felt the need to threaten him in the first place. It’s not like Chanyeol barred him from entering all that often–he sometimes had trouble saying “no.”

Pursing his lips in preparation for whatever was about to come, Chanyeol opened the door to reveal an oddly serious Baekhyun. He stepped aside to allow Baekhyun into his apartment, eyes following him with curiosity.

Once he was in the middle of the room, Baekhyun spun around and crossed his arms over his chest. “You haven’t gone on an actual date with Jongdae,” Baekhyun said. It was an accusation and a statement. He stared intensely at Chanyeol as if daring him to refute it. Chanyeol felt a child being told they’d done something wrong, except he was an adult and Baekhyun had no right to tell him how to have a relationship.

“We do plenty together,” Chanyeol said, moving to get himself a glass of water because he had a feeling this was going to go on longer than he would like.

Baekhyun plucked the glass from Chanyeol’s hand and took a long sip before continuing, ignoring Chanyeol’s protest. “Jongdae told me all you do is chill in either one of your apartments or hang out with the rest of us. Sometimes you eat lunch on campus. That’s not how you date someone. You have to  _ do  _ things.”

Chanyeol slowly put the second glass he was about to fill with water back on the counter and turned around. He leaned against it and looked over at Baekhyun. “Both of us are fine with how things are. We don’t have time for much else. I can be as affectionate as I want right here with the added benefit of no one else being around so we can have as much sex as we want. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Baekhyun ran a hand through his hair, his mouth downturned into a frown. “Okay fine, you’re happy like that, but are you seriously going to tell me that’s all you want. I know both of you are far more adventurous. I’m just saying, the two of you might want to change context sometimes.”

Chanyeol recalled their snowball fight and walks together around campus and literally everything else they had done together. All of it had been fun and he would love for that to continue. “Okay maybe you’re right, we do things together sometimes but we don’t go on dates, and it does sound nice. Though, it’s not like we went on many when we were dating.”

“What do you mean we never went on dates?” Baekhyun exclaimed, completely scandalized. “We went on dates all the fucking time, even ones that didn’t even involve sex in any way. You even paid most of the time and it was all kinds of fun. They were one of the only things that kept be from gaming in my room for most of first year.”

“Really?” Chanyeol said. Now that he thought about it, they hung out a lot and went out all the time. He was so comfortable with Baekhyun, going out to places was just something they always did. It didn’t feel forced or special.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at Chanyeol’s apparent cluelessness. “Hate to break it to you but we were super boyfriends, we disgusted everyone on so many levels beyond the crazy sex. We might have been “the really kinky boyfriends” but we were the fun and wild and occasionally cheesy ones too.”

“I guess I got caught up in being mysterious about it, it was fun,” Chanyeol admitted after a long pause. He had the grace to look apologetic because now that he seriously thought about it, they’d had a lot of fun and he was right, they were pretty cheesy. He didn’t like to think about past relationships.

“You are right about that, which is why I’m here talking to you directly to remind you. Take him on a date, you obviously know how to do that. I mean he does too, but he still has stars in his eyes after finally getting you to like him back and won’t listen to me,” Baekhyun said.

“I’ll take him on one, I promise,” Chanyeol pledged, “I just don’t have any ideas right now and I kind of want to do something special, y’know?”

Baekhyun threw his hands up and fell onto the couch. “Oh my god Chanyeol it’s not that hard. Just wine and dine him and then come home and fuck. You can do whatever, and I seriously mean whatever, you just have to do it together,” he said, looking directly at Chanyeol, enunciating every word separately.

“Too cliche,” Chanyeol said, pouting. “Our first date was going to McDonalds to eat while we plotted our grand prank on our asshole RA and then sneaking onto the roof to make out.”

Baekhyun smiled fondly. “Best first date ever…I suppose I get what you mean. Jongdae’s pretty laid back, and, as I said, he’d be game for whatever you throw at him. He likes you enough to not be picky.”

“I don’t know about that, all we do is music. How am I supposed to pick something specific?” Chanyeol felt needlessly helpless even though it wasn’t that complicated. He felt like an awkward teenager, but taking Jongdae to a specific place as boyfriends was a new step and he truly hadn’t thought about it.

“He does other things too,” Baekhyun said, interrupting his thoughts. “Look, if you don’t do something, I will take this matter into my own hands. Are you sure you want that?”

Chanyeol cocked his head. On one hand, that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, but on the other, he would be able to blame everything on Baekhyun if they went wrong. The latter was great incentive to at least give this a shot, since he couldn’t come up with anything and they probably wouldn’t stop bugging him until he did. “Fine, go for it,” he said with finality.

An alarming grin spread across Baekhyun’s face, eerily cheerful, as if he expected this. “Excellent, I have something in mind already,” Baekhyun said.

Of course he did, Chanyeol thought, groaning internally. All he hoped for was that he and Jongdae enjoyed at least part of it, and that it didn’t end with them not wanting to speak to each other again. He could always give Jongdae a blowjob in penance. It was something he planned to do regardless, but he would make it extra apologetic. As for Baekhyun, he’d be dead to Chanyeol forever if that happened.

“If you’re done, please leave. I’ve barely slept and my bed is behind you and I need to go collapse on it,” Chanyeol said, pointing to the door.

“I’ll let you know when I have the plans straightened out,” Baekhyun chirped, practically skipping towards the door.

When he was about to turn the handle on the door, he paused. “Shit,” he cursed.

“What is it?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun turned around and asked, “When do we have to record for this thing? I have to practice now while I’m not bogged down.” He was dead serious and it touched Chanyeol that he was taking their precious project so seriously.

“We record in two weeks. You’re lucky we had to postpone it because our asshole teachers decided to team up and make it impossible to spend that much time working on something else. That weekend should be much better,” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun sighed in relief. “Thank god, I thought I was going to have to wing it.”

“You better not fucking wing it, Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said sternly.

“I know, I know. My mark is on the line here too.” Baekhyun waved Chanyeol’s concerns away. It was only Chanyeol’s knowledge that Baekhyun picked up things fairly quickly that kept him from pressing any further. “I’ll be at practice tomorrow too,” Baekhyun added before leaving.

Chanyeol gave up trying to process all of that. He stripped down to his boxers and fell into bed, just as he’d said.

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: Baek**

 

_ baek: I hope you’ll be happy to know that i’ve arranged your date _

 

_ yeol: great _

 

_ baek: At least sound happy _

 

_ yeol: great :) _

 

_ baek: see if i ever do anything for you again _

_ baek: anyway I got Kyungsoo to help and _

 

_ yeol: you got WHO _

 

_ baek: Kyungsoo _

_ baek: your best friend _

_ baek: other than me of course _

_ baek: the one would know what to do with the two of you _

_ baek: he who cares _

_ baek: who tried to talk me out of a lot of my more creative ideas _

_ baek: you should be grateful _

_ baek: ask him :) _

 

_ yeol: ok fine _

_ yeol: what is it _

 

_ baek: he got a reservation at one of his prof’s friend’s restaurants _

_ baek: apparently it’s a nice place with live jazz on fridays _

_ baek: he said you’d like it _

 

_ yeol: oh _

_ yeol: that is actually really nice _

_ yeol: I’ll go thank him now _

 

_ baek: AHEM _

 

_ yeol: and you _

_ yeol: thanks bro _

 

_ baek: you even called me bro :’) _

 

_ yeol: I can take it back _

 

_ baek: no your affection is mine forever _

 

_ yeol: whatever _

_ yeol: be at practice tomorrow _

_ yeol: I promise I’ll put in effort for this date _

_ yeol: and that i’ll ask him soon _

 

_ baek: I DON’T BELIEVE THIS _

_ baek: GO FUCKING ASK HIM RIGHT NOW YOU ASS _

_ baek: DON’T REPLY UNTIL YOU DO _

 

–

 

Chanyeol, Jongdae, and Baekhyun finally managed to coordinate their schedules to finish recording Baekhyun’s background vocals for the project. Chanyeol had to call in several favours just to get a decent recording booth during the small window of time they had open to spend with each other, but he figured it was worth it.

Unfortunately, Baekhyun was making it difficult to record in peace, because he spent every other moment needling Chanyeol to ask Jongdae out as their dinner reservation date came closer. He was already dropping heavy hints to an unsuspecting Jongdae and Chanyeol was starting to feel the pressure, even if Baekhyun only brought it up directly when Jongdae wasn’t paying attention. 

Chanyeol had already made sure it was on a night they were both free but he still didn’t have the courage to ask him quite yet. This whole thing felt oddly formal in a relationship that was informal from the get go. At this point, they basically lived and ate together.

“If you don’t ask him today, I will either ask him for you or set up an elaborate surprise event for the two of you. You don’t want that to happen, trust me, so grow some balls and ask,” Baekhyun said to Chanyeol under his breath while Jongdae was occupied.

Chanyeol just looked at him.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Baekhyun announced immediately after and stepped out of the booth. He winked at Chanyeol, who groaned internally. Jongdae looked at Chanyeol in confusion and Chanyeol decided it was time to bite the bullet and do this.

“So, Jongdae,” Chanyeol said, not looking anywhere near Jongdae.

“Yes?” Jongdae replied, not looking up from the sound board.

Chanyeol reached up to fuss with his hair, he still had no idea how to go about this, which was stupid because it wasn’t a big deal. “Uhhh,” he continued, intelligently.

“Is there something you need?” Jongdae asked, looking up.

“I was wondering if you wanted to–”

“I’m back!” Baekhyun chirped from the doorway.

“Fuck,” Chanyeol muttered under his breath. He followed Baekhyun back into the sound booth, scowling at him until he noticed.

Baekhyun winced. “I take it you didn’t ask,” he said.

“You interrupted me,” Chanyeol said through gritted teeth.

“How hard is it to ask your boyfriend on a date?”

Chanyeol looked over at Jongdae who was adjusting the settings once again. “I don’t know, it’s just hard for some reason.”

He could feel Baekhyun’s eyes on him as he watched Jongdae. “You are so fucking whipped man,” Baekhyun said, shaking his head. “Look, I’m going to go once my parts are all done. Make sure you do it today.”

The rest of their recording session continued with no further mention of the date. By the end of it, they were all exhausted and had used every minute of the time they had to use the rooms. Half of their time had been spent arguing or fooling around, but they did manage to get the songs completed, much to Chanyeol’s relief.

It wasn’t until they were both nearing their respective apartments that Chanyeol remembered the date. 

“Jongdae, wait.” Chanyeol said, squeezing his eyes shut and letting go of the door handle.

“Yeah?” Jongdae said, hanging out of his room.

“I was wondering if you uh,” he froze, dragging his last “uh” on for longer than necessary.

“Chanyeol, just spit it out!”

“Do you want to do on a date with me?” Chanyeol finally managed to ask, his face heating up at record speed.

Jongdae went pink, clearly not expecting that question. “Oh,” he said softly, “Well, of course I do. I mean, it’s not like we’re dating or anything…is this why you’ve been acting so weird?” Jongdae asked with a laugh. His smile was so endearing it made Chanyeol feel floaty even if it reduced his ability to think by half.

“Yes? No? Maybe?” he said, unsure. “It’s weird asking like this.”

“I guess, but who else are you supposed to ask to go on dates with?” Jongdae asked, still smiling.

Chanyeol made some kind of noise in agreement. Now that he’d finished his task he wanted to go and distract himself by doing something else. Then he remembered he hadn’t even told Jongdae the details. “It’s next Friday at 7, we have reservations at restaurant Kyungsoo recommended.”

“I take it you weren’t the only one involved in planning this.”

Chanyeol looked guilty and Jongdae laughed. “I guess that explains the way Baekhyun and Minseok have been acting for the past few days.”

“Minseok knows?” Chanyeol asked with a frown.

Jongdae gave him a flat look, “Of course he knows, he works with Kyungsoo and is at the top of Baekhyun’s gossip web.”

“Can’t they just not for once?” Chanyeol groaned.

“You know you’d be all up in their business were you in their place.” Chanyeol couldn’t even argue with that.

“Anyway, you’re lucky I’m free,” Jongdae said.

Chanyeol smiled, “I picked that day because I knew you’d be free.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“This is still weird,” Chanyeol said, still dying a little inside.

“It’ll be fine. See you later Chanyeol.”

“Bye,” Chanyeol said in response before going into his room to finish editing the songs  and then do something mindless until his nerves wore off.

 

–

 

“Chanyeol go home and get ready, none of us want to hear you whine any more about your date,” Kyungsoo said from behind the cafe’s register.

“You’re supposed to be my emotional support, Soo,” Chanyeol said from where he sat at the counter. He was a complete mess having spent the past few days worrying about his date with Jongdae. He hadn’t even seen him in the past two days because their schedules hadn’t lined up, and the longer he went without seeing him, the more anxious he got.

“It’ll be fine,” Minseok said, coming from the back office. “Jongdae’s really excited about this date, even if he hasn’t said anything to you. Plus, he’s easy to talk to, no matter the situation.”

Chanyeol thought for a moment, though he already knew Minseok was right. “I guess.”

“Also, if you do anything to hurt him I will show you no mercy, but you already know this,” Minseok said with a cheerful face that did not, in any way, match the dark truth embedded in his statement.

“Uh-yeah, sure,” Chanyeol said. 

“Chanyeol,” Jongin called from where he was washing one of the tables, “if you don’t go now, you won’t be able to get ready in time. You’ll feel worse if you don’t look good.”

Chanyeol hadn’t thought about that. If he was going to do this date thing, he had to be ready to impress. He and Jongdae rarely wore anything nice around each other and this was a good chance to clean up properly. He still cursed Baekhyun for making it so formal instead of burgers and a movie or something, but he wanted to see Jongdae cleaned up enough that he could forgive that.

“See? Now leave, we still have customers and you’re so loud I’m sure all of them know about your woes by know,” Kyungsoo told him, passing a customer his change.

Chanyeol looked over at Jongin, “Jongin you’re my new best friend. I’m going now.”

“Bold of you to assume we were best friends in the first place,” Kyungsoo shouted from one of the coffee machines.

Chanyeol just gave him the finger and walked out of the cafe.

 

–

 

“Why are you here?” Chanyeol asked, looking down at Baekhyun. He was in the middle of getting ready for his date while also  contemplating calling in sick on account of the fact that his stomach churned with anxiety and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat anything.

It hadn’t even been an hour since he’d left the cafe and he was already over twice as nervous than he had been while complaining to his friends. It was taking all his concentration to keep the cookie Minseok had given him in his stomach. He figured if he was going to kiss Jongdae at any point tonight, he’d rather not have thrown up at any point during the night. It was part of his long list of reasons as to why he should not go to that restaurant.

Baekhyun didn’t answer and took in the sight of Chanyeol’s dripping wet hair, the blowdryer in his hands, and his current shirtless state. “Why aren’t you ready?” he asked, unimpressed.

“I’m working on it,” Chanyeol told him, barring the door. “I had to work late and then needed some important motivational support before going through with this, so I didn’t have time to shower until now.”

“Then let me in so I can help you,” Baekhyun said, grabbing the hairdryer from Chanyeol’s hand and somehow managing to barge past him. Chanyeol didn’t even bother arguing.

“Is this what you’re wearing?” Baekhyun asked, pointing to the turtleneck and blazer he had laid out on his bed before hopping in the shower.

“Yeah, is there something wrong with it? I figured it was a nice restaurant, so I thought that would be fine.”

Baekhyun nodded in approval, “So you  _ can _ make good fashion decisions Park Chanyeol, I’m impressed.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol said in irritation. Chanyeol was perfectly capable of dressing himself. If anything, Baekhyun was the more questionable one.

Baekhyun hummed in lieu of a response and then had Chanyeol sit down so he could dry his hair. Chanyeol just let Baekhyun do what he wanted in terms of styling. There was something soothing about having someone else do your hair for you. Besides, since Baekhyun had gone through so much trouble to make this date happen, there was no way he’d sabotage Chanyeol’s look.

About ten minutes later, Chanyeol was finished. His hair was perfect and he thanked Baekhyun profusely. Baekhyun only hurried him faster through the final stages of getting ready because he was late and they needed to get to the restaurant in time for their reservation. A look in the mirror told him his hair was perfection and he tried not to touch it as he threw on his nicest coat and scarf before Baekhyun was pushing him out the door, promising to lock up for him once they’d left.

Chanyeol startled when he saw Jongdae was already waiting for him in the hall, looking like the hottest piece of ass he had ever seen in his entire life. He stopped in his tracks, forcing Baekhyun to run into him.

“Oof–Chanyeol don’t just stop in the mid–,” Baekhyun’s muffled voice came out from the back of Chanyeol’s coat.

The noise cause Jongdae to turn around so Chanyeol could finally get a good look at him. If Chanyeol was a romantic–and he was–he would say the first thing he noticed was the way Jongdae’s eyes widened and seemed to sparkle once they laid eyes on him. Chanyeol would deny his eyes wandering down to the fitted black pants, belted at the top, that did everything for Jongdae’s figure. Besides, even if he couldn’t deny it, Jongdae’s dazzling smile drew his eve from everything else. It was all going on the floor by the end of the night anyway.

Chanyeol ignored Baekhyun entirely.

“Jongdae,” he croaked, voice  just a bit too high, “you look ni-reat.” As soon as it was out of his mouth, he knew it was too late to take back.

Jongdae blinked once and burst out laughing, “Ni-reat? What is ni-reat?!”

Chanyeol couldn’t even be mad, even as he said it, he knew it sounded stupid, but there was no way in hell he was getting mad at Jongdae when he was laughing helplessly like that. Not when he looked that handsome. He could, however, be mad at Baekhyun, who had clapped him on the shoulder and muttered “Smooth.”

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said stiffly, “I think it’s time you left. Your services are no longer required.” To emphasize his threat, Chanyeol pushed down on that one spot on Baekhyun’s neck that Chanyeol knew was one of his weak points to the point where it hurt.

“Ow, ow, owowow!” He yelped, ducking away from Chanyeol. He was unable to escape completely with Chanyeol having the advantage of height. “Ok fine, I’ll leave,” he said, walking down the hall. About halfway down, he spun, gave them finger guns, and said, “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

“Take your finger guns and leave!” Chanyeol yelled after him.

Then he noticed Jongdae doing them in return, and gave him a pointed look.

Jongdae patted Chanyeol’s arm. “Hey, all I’m saying is that if they want us to go on a date that badly the least we can do is provide a few interesting snapshots. Who knows, Baek might get ideas for our threesome.”

“We are not having a threesome with Baekhyun.” Chanyeol said, putting his metaphorical foot down. In all honesty, it wasn’t that he wasn't up for a threesome with Baekhyun in general, they already had a potential “friends with benefits if not in a relationship” thing going on if he  _ really  _ needed it, it was the fact that Jongdae and Baekhyun together would be a menace, and he wasn’t sure he could handle that.

Now that they were completely alone to their thoughts, Chanyeol felt a sudden chasm open up between them. He couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what it was, but it had something to do with the fact that this was a context they’d never been placed in before; the stiff boyfriends on a dinner date was so out of his range that he wasn’t sure how to fit the role. Judging by the way Jongdae wouldn’t meet Chanyeol’s eyes, he assumed he was feeling the same.

“Let’s, uh, go, shall we? I think the Uber is waiting outside,” Chanyeol said, after a quick glance to his phone. 

He didn’t miss the look of relief on Jongdae’s face. It wasn’t a mean one, or so Chanyeol hoped as they hurried downstairs.

Once Chanyeol confirmed that the driver was theirs, he and Jongdae walked to opposite sides of the car. Just before they opened them, Jongdae said, “You look really ni-reat too, your hair looks good done up like that.” Immediately after he grinned and ducked into the car.

Chanyeol could feel his face start flaming.  _ Did he seriously just do that? _ He wondered with amazement and jealousy. At least his ni-react was a joke.

Neither Chanyeol nor Jongdae had any idea where they were going, they just gave the slip of paper with the address on it to their driver and hoped for the best. It took about half an hour to arrive at the restaurant, which was tucked into a side-road somewhere downtown..

When they stopped, Chanyeol remembered that he was supposed to be a boyfriend on a date and quickly opened the door so he could fog around the car and open Jongdae’s. The idea was good in theory but it didn’t work if they both had the same one and ended up crashing into each other at the back of the car. Their Uber driver snorted as he drove away, leaving them to stand there awkwardly.

“Should we go in?” Jongdae asked, breaking the silence first.

Chanyeol nodded and then used his longer legs to make it to the door first. He could get the door for his boyfriend at the very least. Jongdae offered him a sweet smile for his trouble and the warmth that had dissipated in the awkwardness came back a little.

It didn’t last though, because once they were shown to their table, both of them attempted to pull out the other’s chair. They both laughed about it, but to Chanyeol it still felt horribly awkward, like they were both trying too hard. On Chanyeol’s part, it was hard to joke around like he usually did with Jongdae looking like a whole 5 course meal and he a starving peasant.

Problem was, Jongdae was acting the same way around him. Well, he liked to think that’s what it was, because he did put a lot of effort into this evening’s look. The point was that this evening wasn’t going as planned and was already thinking of how to prolong Baekhyun’s suffering if he couldn’t save it.

It was a shame things were so awkward. The place Kyungsoo had chosen was amazing; it was a great place for their “first” date. It had live jazz musicians playing in the corner, and Chanyeol could tell they were very skilled at what they did. They also provided a convenient distraction for both of them from their date if needed. It was acceptable to simply drink wine and listen to live music, wasn’t it?

Realizing he would have to actually order food, he opened the menu and took a sip of the way-too-expensive wine the waitress had poured for them just after they sat down. Chanyeol looked down and read the first page…and nearly spat the wine across the table. He could feel his wallet grow lighter just skimming the appetizer section. If he wanted to get his fill of food, he was going to have to plan this carefully.

Across the table, Jongdae was also looking at the menu and had paled a little. The grip he had on his glass tightened as he took in the prices of the food. Unlike Chanyeol, he drank the rest of the wine in his glass.

“What are we gonna do? I can’t afford half of this and I’m starving,” Chanyeol whispered across the table.

Jongdae looked down at the menu, his face scrunched in thought before it brightened again. “We’ll just order a few things together and ask for plates. We can get something carb heavy and then some meat so we’re both full.”

His smile was so bright that Chanyeol felt like he’d been blessed, while also feeling like he was dying a slow, blissful death. He was so glad he had a smart boyfriend who shared his passion about food.

Chanyeol’s mind slipped for a moment as he watched Jongdae’s throat bob and then looked away hastily, sipping more wine.

Now that they were sitting face to face, Chanyeol could finally get a good look at his boyfriend beyond his initial impression in the hallway and his side profile in the car.

Jongdae was stunning. Period. His hair had been brushed away from his forehead so that it framed his face, and his eyes sparkled just like they always did. He had obviously cleaned up carefully for this date. Chanyeol found himself wanting to either look at him for hours on end or turn away like a coward to save his poor heart from whatever flippy thing Jongdae was making it do. He opted to do the latter.

Chanyeol took another sip of wine. Well, if put under duress, he’d say it was more like a gulp of wine, and he may have choked a little after it went down the wrong way. Jongdae laughed at that because of course he did, which made Chanyeol smile back but also die a little inside because Jongdae’s smile was as radiant as the sun and holy shit he was so fucking whipped.

“You okay man?” Jongdae asked when Chanyeol didn’t say anything.

Chanyeol, of course, hadn’t said anything because he couldn’t say anything. The longer he sat there the more his thoughts buzzed in his head, making him feel like he was floating on a cloud. Sitting here with Jongdae, who looked breathtaking, in this beautiful restaurant that had  _ live jazz _ , was becoming an entirely surreal experience. He couldn’t believe Jongdae was  _ his _ date, and he had the honour of fucking and being fucked by him on the regular. 

It registered in his mind that Jongdae was looking at him with real concern, concern that he really needed, but not for the reason Jongdae was probably thinking, even if he had no idea what that was.

Chanyeol took a sip of water and then went back to his wine. “I’m fine,” he said hoarsely.

“You sure,” Jongdae said, going for his own wine. Chanyeol, in his stream of consciousness that was zeroed in on the elegant way Jongdae picked up the glass and the rings on his fingers that he didn’t usually wear, failed to catch the trembling of Jongdae’s hands.

“Yep,” Chanyeol chirped. “I have to use the restroom,” Chanyeol announced, standing up and shaking the table, nearly causing the drinks to tip over. “Sorry,” he mumbled, readjusting what he could.

“It’s okay, I’ll just tell the waiter where you went if they come back,” Jongdae said, organizing the table.

“Sounds good,” Chanyeol said before he made a beeline for the men’s room. When he was far enough from the table, he looked back at the table to see Jongdae lean back and take a sip of his drink. His other hand was tapping along with the band as he watched them play. How he managed to look so cool and collected and gorgeous Chanyeol had no idea. He wished he could just watch from afar or go back in time and punch his past self in the face for putting on a turtleneck; he was sweating buckets.

“Excuse me,” someone said from behind him, breaking the spell. Chanyeol realized he was very much still in the restaurant and very much in the way of everything. 

Chanyeol stepped to the side “Sorry ‘bout that,” he muttered before walking into the washroom and locking himself in a stall. Luckily, he was pretty sure Jongdae hadn’t noticed a thing.

 

**MESSAGE: KSoo**

 

_ yeol: help _

_ yeol: kyungsoo _

_ yeol: please _

_ yeol: i need you bro _

_ yeol: bro _

 

_ KSoo: What is it? _

_ KSoo: I’m baking. _

 

_ yeol: I’m fucked _

 

_ KSoo: I don’t need or want any information about your sex life I told you this _

 

_ yeol: No it’s not that, we’re still at the restaurant _

 

_ KSoo: Okay, so what is the problem. _

 

_ yeol: He’s beautiful and too good for me and he’s so cute i don’t know what to say to him i just keep looking at him and then can’t think of what to say because wow he really is just sitting there on a date with ME and rgjsdgkhdfg _

_ yeol: I’m so fucked I can’t even talk _

_ yeol: I’m on my second glass of wine and I DONT EVEN LIKE WINE _

 

_ KSoo: You are whipped. Holy Shit. _

 

_ yeol: Yeah, what do I do? _

 

_ KSoo: You spend hours together, just talk about what you usually talk about to break the ice. _

 

_ yeol: YOU DONT UNDERSTAND I DONT KNOW HOW TO SPEAK ANYMORE _

 

_ KSoo: So what do you want me to say? _

_ KSoo: I can try texting Baekhyun, he’s probably staking out the date knowing him. _

 

_ yeol: He better fucking not be _

_ yeol: actually that might be a good idea _

 

_ KSoo: NO. Get back to your date and figure out something to talk about. _

_ KSoo: He’s probably nervous too, knowing how long he’s liked you. _

 

_ yeol: you think? _

 

_ KSoo: Has he been talking a lot? _

 

_ yeol: well no _

 

_ KSoo: The two of you literally never shut up around each other. He’s probably nervous. Get out there and break the ice and stop texting me in the bathroom like a coward. _

 

_ yeol: I’m hurt _

 

_ KSoo: Good. Bye. _

 

Chanyeol sighed and pocket his phone. He opened the door and went over to the sinks. He considered splashing his face with water, but he didn’t want to accidentally ruin his ensemble, so he settled for slapping his cheeks. He took a deep breath and straightened his jacket in the mirror and fixing a stray hair. He could do this.

Jongdae was just as he’d left him except his wine glass was now empty and his finger was no longer tapping along with the music. He jumped when Chanyeol flopped down in his chair.

“You’re back,” he said, straightening and sitting so he faced Chanyeol.

Chanyeol forced himself to sit properly at the table, not turned towards the stage as he’d been sitting before.

Talking to Kyungsoo had helped to calm his nerves a little and he realized that Jongdae was acting far stiffer than usual. His eyes widened when he saw Chanyeol again in a way that was extremely cute and flattering, making Chanyeol blush.

“How was your trip?” Jongdae asked, feigning nonchalance. He went to take a sip from his empty wine glass and frowned when there was nothing left to drink.

Chanyeol laughed, causing him to frown even deeper. “You know, the usual. I’d go into detail but we’re about to eat.” Humour was one of Chanyeol’s fortes so he was going to use it to power through this and take Jongdae with him. Besides, the faster they were done with this dinner, the faster he could get him out of those clothes.

“Oh good, I was worried.”

Chanyeol scoffed, “As if I’d let anything happen before the fun begins.”

Jongdae choked on his water. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. A smile was playing around his lips and Chanyeol was a little relieved. All they had to do was get through this awkward dinner and it would be nothing but the two of them and one of their shabby apartments.

“Have you two decided on your order?” Their waitress asks, appearing suddenly between them. Chanyeol tried to hide his jump in surprise, but the smirk Jongdae was fighting meant that it had not gone unnoticed.

“Yes,” Jongdae said. He then proceeded to outline all of the things they were going to order and then share, but Chanyeol wasn’t really listening, he just liked watching Jongdae speak. His voice was so much lower than what one would expect, and it was so nice to the ear both in regular conversation and just before he came ins-

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae shouted, forcing Chanyeol from his thoughts.

“What?”

“Do you want dessert?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”

Jongdae grinned at him and then relayed the information to the waitress. When she was gone, he said, “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

“So it wasn’t my pretty face?” Chanyeol asked, leaning forward with his arms on the table. His heart was beating just a tad too fast, but he wasn’t about to just let things die again.

Jongdae moved his leg so that it was brushing against Chanyeol’s. “I can name a lot of reasons, actually, but maybe it can wait until after we leave.”

Chanyeol swallowed. “We could always just leave now.”

“And miss dessert?”

“Good point, I can wait.”

The rest of the evening was easier from there. Food brings people together because it’s magical in that way. Good food is particularly effective in this and, fortunately, the prices on the menu weren’t for show. Half of their conversation was about how delicious the steak was, and the other about aimless things that never fell into awkwardness because they had gone overboard and ordered a lot.

Dessert eaten, bill paid, they were finally on their way home. It wasn’t the worst date, but classy restaurants definitely weren’t his style.

 

–

 

When Chanyeol closed the door behind him, he leaned against the painted wood and slid down to the floor. “Safe,” he breathed, closing his eyes and letting his head fall forward. All of the tension flowed out of him.

Jongdae laughed and pulled him up. “You do know I’m still here right?”

Chanyeol looked down at him, smiling. “I know, but it’s just us now,” he said as he wrapped his arms around Jongdae’s waist, “and I can get you out of those clothes. Nice as they are, they’ve been driving me crazy all night.”

“I don’t put out on the first date Chanyeol,” Jongdae said primly, stepping out of Chanyeol’s reach.

“Jongdae, we’ve already had sex. This wasn’t even our first date,” Chanyeol whined, reaching for Jongdae once more only for him to pull back further.

Jongdae stuck his nose in the air and said, “I have principles, Chanyeol.”

“Fine, then I’ll go home and we can have another date next weekend. Maybe then we’ll have our first kiss.” Chanyeol turned around and put his hand on the doorknob, hoping Jongdae would say something before he had to commit to his bluff.

“Wait!” Jongdae said, “Maybe I am a slut.”

A grin spread across Chanyeol’s face as he turned around and wrapped his arms around Jongdae. “But you’re my slut,” he said, giving Jongdae a squeeze.

“Chanyeol, you can’t just go around calling people that,” Jongdae said.

“But you–”

Chanyeol wasn’t allowed to finish his statement because Jongdae’s mouth was on his, his lips soft and warm and fondly telling him to shut the fuck up without having to use words.

When they broke apart, Chanyeol asked, “Are you being confusing on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m nervous,” Jongdae said, his facade breaking a little so that Chanyeol could see it in his expression. 

Chanyeol gently pulled him closer. “You have nothing to be nervous about,” he said, kissing Jongdae’s forehead and giving him a smile.

Jongdae returned it with a weak one of his own. “You don’t get it, here let me-,” Jongdae took Chanyeol’s hand and placed his fingers on his own neck so he could feel Jongdae’s pulse.

“You’re not kidding,” Chanyeol said as he took his fingers off of Jongdae’s neck. “But wait,” Chanyeol said, taking Jongdae’s hand. “Here.” He let Jongdae feel his pulse, which was just as fast.

“We’re about the same I’d say,” Chanyeol finished.

Jongdae hugged him in close, his head fit perfectly under Chanyeol’s chin. “All night, it’s been driving me crazy,” he said into Chanyeol’s shirt, so his face couldn’t be seen.

“Right?” Chanyeol said, stroking his back, “We’ve been together for a while but it felt like a first date.”

“It’s funny, isn’t it? It’s like we did this whole thing backwards,” Jongdae said, looking up.

“Yeah, this was really…weird. It didn’t help that you looked like that. I’d have eaten you before anything on that menu,” Chanyeol cringed internally at his own words, but felt better when he saw Jongdae’s eyes darken.

“Oh please, you stuffed yourself. My meal on the other hand, looked fantastic, but it was a little overdressed,” Jongdae said, in a happier, sultry tone.

“We can fix that on the fifth date, or whatever date you’re allowed to hit a home run on.”

Jongdae looked at him with horror. “I changed my mind, I do put out on the first date. Anything to make it feel less like…this,” Jongdae said, pushing back.

“I thought you’d never let up,” Chanyeol said in relief. “That’s an  _ excellent _ idea.”

“Any preferences as to where we go from here?” Jongdae asked. “Before you can’t talk.”

Chanyeol thought for a moment before saying, “Ah…I’m not good to bottom right now, but I’m game for anything else.”

“Do you still have that special box Baekhyun mentioned?” Jongdae asked, his eyes sparkling.

“When did–yes, I have it. It’s in my closet, you can take my key.” Chanyeol held out his key for Jongdae, who was out the door in record speed, returning with Chanyeol’s shoebox of special toys. He looked like Christmas had come early, so Chanyeol took it he’d already looked inside and explored a little.

“Would it be fine if we used this?” Jongdae asked, pulling out Chanyeol’s remote controlled vibrator. His expression was neutral but Chanyeol could tell how excited he was about all this. He felt his cock twitch with interest at the idea of giving Jongdae that level of power and then getting wrecked.

Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically, grateful Jongdae hadn’t chosen one of the more…questionable things in the box.

“Excellent. Clothes off,” Jongdae ordered and Chanyeol wasted no time following instructions. Their dinner had been long and his warm clothes were stifling; he was happy to shuck them off. When he was done, he went to go wait on Jongdae’s bed. When he realized Jongdae was watching him carefully, he flexed and laughed when Jongdae turned away in embarrassment.

While Jongdae was otherwise occupied Chanyeol realized he was still pathetically flaccid. He started slowly massaging the base of his cock, looking over to watch as Jongdae pulled out his bottle of lube and set it aside so he could undress. Jongdae took his time unbuttoning his dress shirt, leaving more and more skin as he made his way down, until he revealed the trail of hair that led beneath his belt. Chanyeol increased the speed of his hand, his cock growing heavier as he imagined being able to walk over and run his hand down along Jongdae’s abdomen until he had a fistful of Jongdae’s cock.

“You ready,” Jongdae asked from above him. He was so busy thinking he hadn’t noticed Jongdae taking off his pants.

“Yeah.”

“Then stop that and get ready.” Jongdae looked down at where Chanyeol was busy toying with himself.

From there on it was standard routine. Jongdae put the vibrator and remote aside in favour of his bottle of lube, which he used to slick up his fingers. Chanyeol spread his legs to give Jongdae access and braced himself before Jongdae started stretching him open.

Jongdae’s slick finger brushed up against his hole, gently probing before pushing inside. A low noise came from the back of Chanyeol’s throat, something he couldn’t stop no matter how many times Jongdae did it. Jongdae grinned and started searching for Chanyeol’s prostate. When he found it, he massaged it without mercy, causing Chanyeol to moan loudly until Jongdae covered his mouth with his own to muffle the noise.

Easing off his assault, Jongdae muttered soothing words of praise as he slid another finger inside. Between his sweet words, he kissed Chanyeol’s languidly as he scissored his fingers to stretch Chanyeol as far as he could.

When he added the third finger, Chanyeol held his wrist. “It’s not that big, just put it in already.”

“Whatever you say, babe,” Jongdae said, taking the vibrator and the remote. He coated the vibrator with a solid amount of lube and helped Chanyeol insert the vibrator at just the right angle. He turned it on at the lowest setting, sending a jolt up Chanyeol’s spine at the sudden sensation.

Dissatisfied, Jongdae adjusted the device until Chanyeol yelped when it came into contact with his prostate. “There we go,” Jongdae said smugly before turning it off. Chanyeol gave him a dirty look but said nothing.

“So,” Jongdae said hesitantly.

In the midst of being fingered and kissed until his lips were swollen, Chanyeol hadn’t taken a proper look at Jongdae. Trying desperately to ignore the buzzing that was setting his nerves on fire, he could see that, beneath his boxers, Jongdae was completely aroused. His posture was stiff and unnatural as he tried not to acknowledge it. The vibrations were making it hard to think. All he felt was building arousal and all he wanted was Jongdae’s unfairly hidden cock.

Chanyeol recovered a little from the vibrator’s effect and said, “Pants off and go sit on the bed.”

Jongdae’s eyes went wide and he quickly complied. Jongdae took his time removing underwear, hissing as he exposed himself to the cool air of the room. His cock was surprisingly hard, more than Chanyeol had guessed, and he couldn’t look away as Jongdae made his way to sit on the bed. Heat pooled in his stomach and a strong wave of arousal shot through him. His cock began to strain upwards and he dreaded what would happen with the vibrator on higher settings while Jongdae looked like the best course of the evening.

Careful not to move the vibrator, he made his way over to Jongdae and settled himself on the bed between his thighs. He moved until he was in a comfortable enough position that he’d be able to deal with being assaulted with the vibrator. Once he was set, he gave Jongdae a kiss to the inside of his thigh before sucking a large bruise onto the tender skin. Jongdae tensed and then relaxed as Chanyeol made his way along Jongdae’s thigh.

“You good to go?” Jongdae asked, holding up the control, smirk plastered on his face. He was at Jongdae’s mercy and Jongdae was very much aware of this considering Chanyeol could clearly see his thumb brushing the arrow to increase the vibrator’s power.

Chanyeol took this lull to take in the sight before the inevitable hit. Having Jongdae before him sitting with his legs wide, thighs covered with Chanyeol’s careful bruises, cock heavy between them felt like a dream..

Chanyeol pushed Jongdae’s thighs a little wider, his hands nearly circling them, and braced himself against them. “As ready as I’ll ever be, just let me…”

Without warning, Chanyeol took the base of Jongdae’s cock in his first two fingers, squeezing them and jerking them back and forth. He dropped lower and used his palm to lift Jongdae’s cock so he could press his lips to Jongdae’s balls beneath. The light kiss turned into an open mouth sliding along the shaft, tongue pressed forward for even more friction. When he reached the head, he rolled his tongue before taking in Jongdae’s entire length at once. He pulled back just as fast, leaving only the feeling of his mouth behind. He finished by thoroughly licking the head of Jongdae’s cock, watching him through lidded eyes.

Jongdae, shivering with need, had been speechless throughout Chanyeol assault save for the noises he made in reaction. The remote sat to the side of Jongdae’s hand, seemingly forgotten with how sudden Chanyeol had moved. Jongdae only looked at him from under his lashes, his eyes dark while his hips rocked back and forth as if waiting for the return of Chanyeol’s mouth.

“Now I’m ready,” Chanyeol said smugly, proud of his handiwork.

Jongdae only looked at him and then down at his cock and Chanyeol got the message.

Jongdae’s eyes had fluttered closed and he had moaned when Chanyeol’s mouth had wrapped around him once more. Chanyeol could now taste the salty bitterness of precum, now leaking from Jongdae’s straining cock. It was somehow heavier, needier in Chanyeol’s mouth this time, and he licked around it eagerly.

Chanyeol jolted, nearly falling against Jongdae, dick brushing against his cheek. His hands clamped down on Jongdae’s thighs. The vibrator increased in intensity and his body shook as he tried to get used to the sensation that was threatening to have him spilling all over Jongdae within seconds. Nothing he’d done had moved it from where Jongdae had carefully placed it against his prostate and the incessant movement was dragging him inch by inch to his climax. He refused to come before Jongdae did so he got to work so he could end this torture sooner rather than later.

“You good?” Jongdae asked, looking down at him with blown pupils. It hadn’t occurred to Chanyeol how seeing him like this might affect Jongdae. He was clearly enjoying everything he saw with the way his eyes raked Chanyeol and the way he seemed to hold his breath to see how well Chanyeol took it.

“Never better,” Chanyeol said, trying not to move in his discomfort. He didn’t want to play Jongdae’s game and lose.

He wasted no words after that. His mouth was back on Jongdae’s dick. He was relentless, bobbing back and forth, using his tongue to lick along the veins and around the tip. He had plenty of practice sucking dicks and he took full advantage of that, taking Jongdae into his mouth until his cock was against the back of Chanyeol’s throat. When that got redundant, he took a different approach. Pumping Jongdae’s cock with a hand slicked with lube, he tongued at the slit and head of Jongdae’s cock until Jongdae was panting, his muscles clenched.

In retaliation, Jongdae turned up the setting by two and Chanyeol doubled over, falling into Jongdae’s chest. Waves of heat and pleasure wracked his body as the device assaulted his nerves. Stars started to appear before his eyes as the sensations sent him higher and higher until he was right on the edge, about to come. He could feel his cock pressed against Jongdae’s leg, sensitive to the touch. He was rock hard and had left a smear of precum from where it had dragged. Already, it was beginning to throb.

Desperate, Chanyeol squeezed the base of his cock hard. He fell back on the bed and took deep breaths, trying to get used to the feeling enough that he didn’t feel so desperately overwhelmed.

His eyes met Jongdae’s. Taking in Jongdae’s smug expression, he forced himself up and took Jongdae’s cock in as deep as it would go again. Breathing through his nose, he hollowed his cheeks and sucked.

Jongdae hastily turned up the setting by one and then his hands were in Chanyeol’s hair, keeping him in place. With the increase, Chanyeol’s legs started shaking and he hummed around Jongdae’s cock, causing the other to moan. Jongdae allowed him to back off and take a breath. He only took a short break before he was at it again, Jongdae trying hard not to buck his hips forward to fuck into Chanyeol’s mouth.

Chanyeol felt like he was about to burst. He couldn’t hold on any longer. He let himself take Jongdae’s length one more time, before he came hard with Jongdae’s cock in his mouth, jerking himself through his release.

“Chanyeol I–” Jongdae started before he was coming too. A stripe landed on Chanyeol’s face before Jongdae caught the rest of it with his hand.

Both spent, they could finally relax. Jongdae made sure to turn off the vibrator and Chanyeol gingerly pulled the lube covered device from his ass. He sat back carefully, still sensitive. Jongdae passed him some tissues to clean up, doing the same himself.

“That was fun,” Jongdae said brightly.

“Better than dinner, that’s for sure,” Chanyeol said, causing Jongdae to laugh.

Jongdae stood up and stretched. “Shower?” he asked, implying several things with one statement.

“Please,” Chanyeol said, holding an arm up for Jongdae to pull him up. “Can I stretch you out?” Chanyeol asked. He hadn’t done it yet and it seemed like a fun idea.

“Of course,” Jongdae said brightly as he led the way into the bathroom. “If you want, you can top, I don’t mind.”

“You sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure. Why? Not sure you have enough strength to fuck me against a wall?” Jongdae challenged.

Chanyeol was assaulted with a series of images that involved Jongdae gasping against a wall, speared on Chanyeol’s cock. The images went right to his dick as he felt himself grow hot even at the thought. “You weigh like nothing, go start the water.”

Jongdae wasted no time and sped off to the shower. Chanyeol took his time to collect the lube and a condom, his mind still distracted. The images were burned against his eyelids and he reached down to touch himself, too impatient to wait until he was in the stall.

When Chanyeol walked into the bathroom, Jongdae was already in the shower, singing some old ballad Chanyeol had never heard before. Silently, he walked over and opened the door without Jongdae noticing, and surprised him by wrapping his arms around Jongdae’s waist.

“Ya!” Jongdae squeaked, jerking away.

Chanyeol’s resulting laughter echoed around the stall until Jongdae grabbed his jaw and cut him off with a kiss. Chanyeol took a deep breath in through his nose and let Jongdae push him against the wall so he could kiss Chanyeol thoroughly. Jongdae pressed their hips together, letting Chanyeol support his back as he used both hands to keep Chanyeol’s face just where he wanted.

Chanyeol moaned into the kiss as he shifted his hips uncomfortably. He could feel Jongdae’s cock growing hard against his thigh, but his own was caught between them.

“What?” Jongdae asked, pulling back.

Chanyeol looked down, “I think I’m just a little too tall for this.”

Jongdae frowned at Chanyeol’s cock and then directly at his face. Before Chanyeol could say anything else, Jongdae was forcing his legs apart to even their heights a little. When Chanyeol didn’t move, he received a pinch as punishment.

“Ow!”

“Move,” Jongdae told him sternly, and move he did.

The entire situation was so amusing Chanyeol had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He loved his tiny boyfriend but this was too much, he was about to lose it.

As if sensing that Chanyeol’s impending laughing fit, Jongdae reached between them to wrap his hand around Chanyeol’s cock. Chanyeol stilled, arousal rushing through him once more. Jongdae  moved his hand in long, languid strokes, toying at the head with his thumb, his grip just tight enough to feel good. He leaned forward to mark Chanyeol’s collarbone while his other hand took care of his own cock.

Chanyeol relaxed into Jongdae’s touch, allowing heat to build up in his gut for the second time that night as he basked in the steam from the water. His breath hitched when Jongdae pressed their lengths together for efficiency. He could feel his cock growing firm against Jongdae’s and had to stop himself from thrusting into Jongdae’s hand. He still had to last a while longer.

“Jongdae?”

“Mmm,” Jongdae hummed, not taking his mouth from Chanyeol’s chest.

“Let’s wash before we do anything else, I have an idea,” Chanyeol explained, pushing him back gently.

Jongdae let go of their cocks and stepped back. “I’m all ears.”

“I’m going to eat you out,” Chanyeol said simply.

Jongdae’s eyes went wide Chanyeol didn’t miss the way his cock twitched with interest. “You, uh, don’t have to,” Jongdae told him, though his body language said differently.

Chanyeol didn’t wait for more than that and guided him under the spray so Chanyeol could shampoo his hair. Ten minutes and an unreasonable amount of laughter later, they were thoroughly washed.

Chanyeol sobered up, remembering what he promised to do. “The wall” he instructed, pointing unnecessarily at the shower wall.

“Are you really sure?” Jongdae asked, going anyway.

Chanyeol just got on his knees and put his lips on Jongdae’s ass, leaving a mark right on the plump, round. His hand cupped the other cheek, squeezing when he was done. He’d be lying if he hadn’t thought of doing this before. Jongdae had the most delicious ass he’d ever seen, and now it was his. He reached for the lube by the door and smeared it on his fingers.

He gave Jongdae one squeeze of warning before he parted Jongdae’s ass cheeks with one hand, and pressed one finger against his entrance, circling it and coating it with lube. Jongdae’s back straightened for a moment, then he relaxed into Chanyeol’s touch. Chanyeol carefully manoeuvred Jongdae’s hips for easier access and more comfort. He then pressed his tongue against Jongdae’s entrance, right where is finger had been.

A jolt of pleasure ran through Jongdae’s body as he reacted to the sensation of Chanyeol’s tongue slowly circling and pushing past the rim, but Chanyeol only continued. He buried his face in close and pulled his tongue in and out, stretching him, fucking him open. When Jongdae’s trembling and muffled noises quelled, he added one finger to stretch further.  By the time Chanyeol had two fingers and his tongue buried in Jongdae’s ass, Jongdae was moaning against the wall, thighs shaking from both pleasure and strain.

“Chanyeol, if you keep going I’m going to come,” Jongdae said, his voice hoarse.

Chanyeol backed off, rubbing Jongdae’s thighs with his hands until they stopped trembling. When he stood to meet Jongdae, Jongdae only looked towards the toothbrush he kept in the stall and Chanyeol got the idea. One moment of furious brushing later and they were kissing again.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Jongdae asked.

“I think so,” was Chanyeol’s confident reply. There was no knowing until he tried, though he was confident enough in his weightlifting that he wasn’t exactly afraid. “I’m going to try picking you up while you’re against the wall,” he explained to Jongdae, showing what he was going to do before he did it.

Jongdae nodded in understanding and stood against the wall, legs spread, looking as much the meal now as he had five hours earlier.

Chanyeol let Jongdae throw his arms around his shoulders so he could hold them there. He waited until Jongdae confirmed he had a strong hold before he bent down to wrap one arm under each of Jongdae’s knees. With each arm coiled under one of his thighs, he spread Jongdae’s legs open between them as he lifted him and backed him against the wall.

For a moment they stayed there, breathing heavily and grinning at each other like idiots. Chanyeol would now and forever be eternally grateful that Jongdae was both small and skinny, because lifting him wasn’t all that bad, especially with the shower wall as leverage.

After their break, Jongdae tugged Chanyeol closer, forcing him to spread Jongdae’s legs even farther in order to chase Jongdae’s mouth. Jongdae made a sound when his cock brushed against Chanyeol’s stomach, a noise that went straight to Chanyeol’s own cock.

“If I let go of one leg to make this work, can you hold yourself up for a bit?”

“I’m not that weak Chanyeol, just hurry.”

Chanyeol let go with one arm and reached down to grip his cock, which was firm enough for Jongdae to be able to sink down on it easily. Without much ado, he and Jongdae carefully arranged themselves so that Jongdae’s entrance was just above Chanyeol’s cock. Feeling the strain in his legs and arms, Chanyeol thrust upwards as he let Jongdae slide downwards so they could meet in the middle.

When they let go, Jongdae took Chanyeol’s cock fast and hard. Both of them let out a loud yell of pleasure and pain, Jongdae from being fucked open and stuffed full so suddenly, and Chanyeol from the sudden tightness as Jongdae clenched hard around his cock.

Breathing heavily Chanyeol held them steady like that until they could adjust. His cock stayed balls deep in Jongdae’s ass, throbbing with pleasure as Jongdae clenched around him. His arms stayed tight around Jongdae’s thighs, spreading him wide between them. Jongdae had his arms wrapped tight around Chanyeol, carrying some of his own weight.  It was only when Jongdae began to mouth against his shoulder that he started to move.

Up and down, he began to bounce Jongdae on his cock, starting slowly and matching each bounce with a thrust of his hips. He could feel his muscles groaning, but this was still far easier than he thought it would be, and the indescribable feeling of Jongdae falling onto his cock, warm and tight, as he fucked him against a wall made this one of the best decisions he’d ever made.

Not content with light thrusting, Jongdae started moving his own hips, grinding them down whenever Chanyeol thrust upwards. He began kissing Chanyeol hard, using his arms to pull them close. When he said he wanted more directly into Chanyeol’s ear,  Chanyol gave him what he wanted.

Bracing himself, Chanyeol pulled out his entire length out before thrusting in hard until skin met skin. He felt Jongdae’s fingers dig into his back as he pulled out once more, coming back faster. Their pace got faster and faster until he had Jongdae burying his mouth in Chanyeol’s collar to keep from making the obscene noises that came unbidden from his lips every time he fell on Chanyeol’s cock. 

His head started to feel light as his orgasm drew closer. His thrusts became deeper and more erratic. He was vaguely aware Jongdae had moved one of his arms to wrap around his own dick in desperation.

Chanyeol came hard, much harder than he had earlier, his cock deep inside Jongdae as he rode out his release. Jongdae came at nearly the same time, coating both of their chests with streaks of come. Spent, they both stayed as they were until they could finally breathe properly again. Chanyeol then let jongdae down so he could work his muscles and hope he didn’t strain something.

“Can we do that again sometime?” Chanyeol asked once they’d rinsed off and climbed into bed together.

Jongdae scoffed, “I’d be insulted if we didn’t. Goodnight, Chanyeol.”

“Goodnight, Jongdae,” Chanyeol responded softly. He didn’t need to see to know that Jongdae was smiling.

 

–

 

**MESSAGE: Baek**

 

_ baek: so, how was it? _

 

_ yeol: It’s 8am _

 

_ baek: so _

 

_ yeol: you nearly woke jongdae up _

 

_ baek: ohoho _

_ baek: so I take it things went well _

 

_ yeol: they went fine _

_ yeol: you’re just not allowed to plan our dates _

_ yeol: that was torture _

 

_ baek: oh yes torture, nice food and drink at a nice place with your boyfriend _

_ baek: you should be on your knees _

 

_ yeol: I only do that for Jongdae now, sorry _

 

_ baek: See if I ever do you any favours _

 

_ yeol: Jongdae says to fuck off he wants to snuggle more _

 

_ baek: I’m having words with both of you at our next practice _

_ baek: give him a kiss for me~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, it's not done yet. I cut this chapter to get it out sooner, because it made sense, and because it would have been too long if I didn't. I packed as much as I could into this one to make up for it.
> 
> ** My Twitter [dejakyu](https://twitter.com/dejakyu)  
> ** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/dejakyu)


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